"Skrish."

Tap. Tap. Tap.

"Nomonjokka!"

Tap. Tap. Tap. Crunch.

"Nomonjokking jok! Whose jokking idea was this?"

You share a wicked grin with Reivon as you kneel down on the ground beside her, watching from the corner of your eye as Belomi throws down his tools in rage, shaking out the pain from his hand. He continues to curse loudly in trigedesleng, strange obscenities that you think must be native only to the trikru, and the absurd profanity makes your eyes widen in shock as you simultaneously attempt to stifle your laughter. You force a cool expression over your face, straightening your spine as you turn to regard him with harsh blue eyes, keeping your voice admirably calm as you reply.

"It was heda who asked us of this favor," you say monotonously, earning a scowl from the dark haired man as you attempt to maintain your composed expression with difficulty. You remember a few of his more explicit curses and your facade almost cracks, but you manage to contain yourself. "If you wish to complain, you are more than welcome to seek her out, so that you can express your displeasure with the inadequete tools provided to us. Though, I would advise you not to speak to her in the throne room; we all know how those conversations end. I do not think that even your shared trikru heritage will save you from a fast trip to the ground."

Belomi glares at you venomously as you and Reivon finally burst into hysterical laughter, your bodies shaking with mirth as the man sulks in silence. It is nearing late afternoon and you and your kru have been in the plains to the west of Polis since shortly after dawn, building a fence to surround the paddock that will hold the horses from the sangedakru that are to arrive in a matter of days. It is time consuming work, since there are only thirty of you and the fence has to be large enough to hold more than five hundred horses comfortably, but it is easy, at least for those of you that are good with your hands.

Belomi is not one of those people.

"Go and keep an eye on Jaspa and Monti," you say to Belomi, deciding to be merciful and give him a break once your laughter has died off. "I can see them sharing that bottle of mead from here. Make sure that they have not made any mistakes on their section of the fence; the commander will have our heads if the horses escape before the spring festival."

Belomi stands up with an obidient nod, throwing the two men a suspicious glance as he wanders over to the other side of the paddock, where you can see Monti and Jaspa hammering away whilst chatting animatedly with Monro and Atim. You watch him leave, shaking your head fondly as Belomi snatches the bottle of mead from Jaspa's hand midsip, causing a whine of outrage in response.

"Branwadas," you say affectionately, turning your gaze back to the post that you are holding in place for Reivon, as she hammers it firmly into the ground. Reivon hums in amused agreement, giving one last hit to the post before stepping back and giving it her nod of approval.

"That should do it," she says, clapping you on the shoulder as you stand up beside her, gazing down at your section of the fence with pride. "Shit, we are good at this. Only a few more sections to go and we'll be done."

"Thank the gods," you return, wiping the sweat from your brow with a grin. Despite the fact that it is still the middle of winter, your body is unused to the milder weather of the capital and you can feel your light cotton shirt sticking to your skin with sweat. The sunlight is due to last for another few hours still, shining down upon you mercilessly and you are grateful for the brisk wind that ruffles your hair, turning your cheeks pink with its chill. "I mean, I appreciate the trust that the commander has put in us to get this done, but I'd rather be at the tavern with a mug of mulled wine right now, listening to some more of Luna's fishing tales."

"Agreed," Reivon says as she kneels back down on the hard ground, fitting up two planks of wood with a critical eye before beginning to hammer them together. "I do love that tavern. I feel like it's the only time that I get to see you, these days."

You sigh softly, dropping down beside your friend to hold the wood steady as she continues to work. It's been almost two weeks since your arrival in the capital and you have been unexpectedly busy. You still manage to spar with your kru in the early mornings, but that is quickly followed by private meetings with the commander, which are lengthy with discussions of war and strategy. After your private meetings, you have the war meetings with the other leaders of the twelve clans, which usually run late into the night. You still try to meet with Luna and your kru at the tavern every evening, but your visits are not usually for as long as they had been in your first few days in Polis. You have hardly spent any time at all with your people in the last ten days and it is what made today so great, despite the work. The commander had offered you the day off from war meetings to get this fence done and you had taken the opportunity without a second thought, eager to spend the day outside of the city with your friends.

"I'm sorry," you murmur sincerely, looking up to meet your closest friend's gaze as she pauses in her hammering. "I know that I haven't been around much."

"Don't apologize, Klark," Reivon says firmly, dropping her hammer to reach out and touch your forearm, brushing her fingers comfortingly over your skin. "I don't blame you; none of us do. We know that you're busy with planning this war and I'm glad that you are such a big part of it. It is good to know that we have you in there, watching out for us in those meetings. We just miss you is all."

"I miss you too," you reply with a small smile, before leaning forward to whisper conspriationly. "If it makes you feel better, the war meetings mostly make me want to stab my own eyes out. They have gotten better recently, but I cannot count how many times I have had to resist the urge to punch Mika of the Plain Riders in the face. I do not know how the commander manages to be so patient with him and the others."

Reivon snorts loudly with laughter, an amused grin pulling at her lips as she pick her tools back up. "How is she, anyway?" She asks, continuing when she notices your confused expression. "The commander. You spend a lot of time with her, what's she like?"

Your brows furrow thoughtfully as you consider your answer. How does one explain the enigma that is the commander of the twelve clans? "Honestly? She's smart. I mean, we already knew that before we came here, but she's really fucking smart, Reivon. Some of the ideas that she comes up with are things that I never would have thought of in a thousand lifetimes. She can find mistakes in every plan that we make but she also fixes them until they are impenatrable. It's incredible."

"Yeah?" Reivon asks interestedly, glancing between you and the wood beneath her skilled hands. "What else?"

You shrug your shoulders lightly. "It's kind of hard to explain her; I don't really know her."

"But you spend every day with her," Reivon replies with a hint of confusion, a crease forming between her brows as she places a nail against the wood before tapping it carefully into the post.

"And we spend every moment taking about war," you reply and it's the truth. You've never really had a personal conversation with the commander and you don't really know anything about the woman who exists beneath all that armor, besides what others have told you. You know that she is there, you have seen brief glimpses of her and you are not so naive as to think that the commander is all that exists; heda is simply one of the many masks that Leksa herself wears, same as Wanheda is one of yours. You know she has other faces, each a part of her as much as the last, but you are yet to be introduced. All you know is heda; you don't know Leksa. "I mean, she's guarded, like, all of the time. I can count on my hands the amount of times that I've seen her smile and it's near impossible to make her laugh. I've never met anyone like her. She's so controlled, all of the time; even when it's just the two of us, she never really lets her guard down completely. It's... it's kind of sad, actually."

Reivon is frowning, even as she is lifting up the newly constructed section of fencing, so that she can begin hammering the posts into the ground. "Well, she has people though, right? I mean, she has Onya and she has Gustos, not to mention the flamekeeper, who follows her around like a lost puppy. Doesn't she have a lover, too?"

"Kostia," you correct automatically, your lips turning down at the corners at the mention of the woman's name. "Onya told me that she's living in one of the houses on the edge of the city and that she hasn't shared a bed with the commander since a few moons before our arrival. Her and the commander don't agree on the war. Apparently, she also asked Luna if it would be okay for her to stay in the boat people's city during the war and Luna doesn't think she plans on coming back once it's over. The accomodations being prepared seem very permanent."

Reivon is so surprised that she misses her next swing on the post, narrowing avoiding crushing her hand as she whips her head around to face you. "What? You cannot be serious."

You shrug your shoulders lightly, meeting your friend's gaze. "That is what I've been told, though I cannot confirm the rumors myself. What I can confirm is that Kostia is a healer, not a warrior and that she believes this war to be a waste of human life. She does not think we can win and that is from the commander's own mouth."

"But this war will save more lives in the long run," Reivon argues, hammer forgotten in her hand as she turns to face you completely. Her eyes are bright as she speaks and you take a second to admire her passion, something that you have always appreciated in your friend. "Without this war, our people will never know true peace."

"I know that," you assure your friend firmly, reaching out to grasp her hand briefly and squeeze. "And the commander knows that too. I cannot speak for Kostia, but from what I've heard, I think that she is just scared of losing the commander. She doesn't think that we can win, and she doesn't want to stay just to watch her lover die. I can understand that. I think it's the wrong choice, but I understand it."

Reivon's expression is thoughful as she turns away to continue her work and you stand side by side in silence for several long minutes, the only sound being the thud of the hammer against the wooden post.

"It's a stupid choice," Reivon finally mutters, her eyes fixed firmly forwards as she speaks and you can only hum in agreement as you watch the wooden post embed deeper and deeper into the ground.

It is a stupid choice. Even after all the horrible things he had done, you would have never left Fin alone on the last day of his life. The pain he had caused and the crimes he had committed still haunted you, but there was nothing that would have pulled you from his side that day.

But you are not Kostia and her relationship with the commander is none of your business, so you push those thoughts from your mind and focus intently on the sound of your closest friend's voice as you work together side by side.

It is long after sun down and you have just returned to your quarters, your blue eyes focused intently upon the water that you have heating over the fire place. You had spent the entire day in the plains outside the city and your body aches after the hours spent doing manual labour, though you cannot not deny the pride that you felt when you had gazed upon the final product of your kru's combined effort.

It is a different kind of pride than what you felt in your meetings with the commander, making battle plans. You were proud of the progress you had made with the commander and the other clan leaders, but this kind of satisfaction today had been immediate. There was no waiting to put these plans into place, no standing around as you talked about all the things you were going to do, it was just doing. You had built something today, and while it had only been a paddock fence, it had purpose and you were proud of it. It made the ache in your muscles and the splinters in your hands feel worth it.

You look up wearily from your seat by the fire when a knock sounds at your door and when you call out for your visitor to enter, you are unsurprised to see the commander's armored form enter the room.

"Hei, heda," you say, turning around to face the fire once more and slumping back down in your chair comfortably. The warmth from the flames feels good on your exposed skin, seeping into your exhausted muscles and you watch the shadows it flickers across the walls with absentminded interest.

"Hello, Klark," the commander murmurs in response, closing the door quietly behind her before crossing the room to stand by your side, back straight with her hands clasped in front of her. You glance up at her, nodding your head to the chair at your side and watch as the other woman sinks into it gracefully, posture still perfect.

"Did you finish the construction of the paddock fence?" The commander asks quietly, tilting her head to look at you, with deep orange light flickering over her tanned profile and glinting off her forest green eyes.

"Yes," you reply simply, running your fingers through your wind swept locks. "And tomorrow afternoon I am joining Onya on the outskirts of the city to begin building the wagons that will carry supplies to the plains."

You had passed the trikru general on your way back to the tower and she had asked (demanded) for your kru's assistance in building the carts and wagons, to which you tiredly gave your consent. The older woman had been delievering orders back and forth between Polis and the trikru for the last week, and despite the fact your kru would have to work side by side with trigedakru to complete the task (you could only imagine the fights you would have to break up over the next few days) you were looking forward to spending some time with Onya. Her prescence grounded you in the captial and you silently admitted that you had missed her while she had been away, though you would never admit it to the hardened warrior.

"Yes, she has informed me of this development," the commander murmurs, slowly beginning to relax in her seat as she speaks. You watch from the corner of your eye as the heat of the fire drains the ever present tension from her limbs, until she is sprawled in her chair in a similiar fashion to yourself. It is strange to see her like this, even after all the time that you've spent together, but there is a small part of you that is glad that she is comfortable enough in your prescence to let her guard down, if only for a few moments. "She is very fond of you."

You raise your eyebrows at this unexpected confession, though the words are not nearly as surprising as the person who is voicing them. You let an easy smile play on your lips as you nod your head slowly, aware that the commander is watching you from the corner of her eye.

"I am very fond of her, as well," you confess sincerely, thinking of the woman who had been an unintentional mentor of yours throughout your younger years. "She's taught me more than I believe she even knows, before the coalition and after. I look forward to fighting by her side in the months to come; it will be a very welcome change from our past interactions on the battle field."

A tiny smile is pulling at the commander's lips and you raise an eyebrow in question when she tilts her head slightly to regard you with twinkling eyes. "What?"

"She used to talk to me about you," the commander admits, chuckling softly when your eyebrows fly upwards in surprise. "I was her seken before I became the commander and every spring I would leave Polis for a few moons to return home to my kru. I was ten years old when I first met her and she began training me, up until my acension day when I was sixteen. It was only a year before then that she met you on the battle field for the first time and I still remember her expression when she returned to the village after you fought."

You are leaning forwards unconciously as the commander speaks, hooked on her every word as her green eyes glaze over in a memory. You had known that the commander was Onya's second; it had been one of the first things that Onya had ever told you, her voice full of pride as you drank mug after mug of mead in a tavern on the edge of trikru territory. You had been hurting back then, wounds still fresh after Fin's death, but you couldn't help but be intrigued as Onya told you stories of the young girl she once trained, who became the commander of the twelve clans. It was a shock to know that the general had been telling that same girl about you.

"'Leksa,'" the commander says, mimicking Onya's deeper voice with a fond grin. "'I fought against an azgeda demon today. She was as cold and hard as ice, contrary to the sunlight in her hair and the fire of a thousand funeral pyres burning in her blue eyes. I watched her cut down nine men before her people called for a retreat and she couldn't have been any older than you. I can only hope that one day I can train you to be as passionate on the battle field."

You are aware of the fact that you are gaping, not for the first time in the commander's prescence, and you only snap your mouth shut with a sharp click when the commander laughs, the soft sound pleasant to your ears.

"There is no way those words came from Onya's mouth," you finally say, only causing the commander to laugh harder, her green eyes twinkling with amusement. "Not in a thousand lifetimes did she say that about me. Not in a thousand lifetimes did she ever say something so poetic about anyone."

"I swear it," the commander insists resolutely, even as her eyes dance with a mirth that you never expected to see reflected in them. It is somewhat captivating. "Even then, she admired you, Klark. Every time she fought against you, I would recieve a letter with details on how you had improved. She absolutely hated you for besting her when you fought, as young as you were, but there was some part of her that was so proud of you too, proud to have fought against you."

"Oh," you croak hoarsely, feeling your throat tighten with unexpected emotion as you slump back into your seat. "That is probably the nicest thing anyone has ever said about me."

The commander glances at you with shining eyes, a small smile pulling at the corner of her lips as she gazes at you. "If you ask her, she will deny it to the end of her days, but it is the truth."

"Oh," you laugh now, though it is shaky at best. "I do not doubt that. It is an effort to have her admit that she does not hate me at all on the best of days."

"She keeps her heart guarded," the commander hums in agreement, turning back to look into the fire. "Is it is hard for her to admit that she cares. Despite that, it is worth the time spent to break down her walls; the woman underneath is one of the greatest companions that you could ever hope to have."

You gaze at the commander's profile, tracing the fire light flickering over her tanned features with your eyes and you can't help but wonder if it is still Onya that you are talking about.

"She's still a stubborn bitch, though," you offer with a small grin, watching as a matching smile pulls at the commander's lips in response.

"I cannot disagree with you there, Klark."

You wake up the next morning, sometime shortly after dawn, to an insistant knocking on your door. You do not bother to change, simply climb out of bed with muscles aching to open the door in only your sleep shirt. You take no notice of the guard's wide eyed expression as he gazes down at your bare legs, simply stare at him with sleep glazed eyes until he thrusts out his hand sharply, fingertips gripping a sealed enveloped.

"A messenger arrived at dawn," the guard says hurriedly, only explaining further when you continue to stare at him with a blank expression. "It is a letter from your Kwin."

You slowly take the letter from his outstretched hand, still standing in the open doorway as you break open the seal with fumbling fingers. Your eyes scan over the letter, the reply from the message you sent to your mother immediately after the summit, and you feel your mouth drop open in surprise at what you find.

"Skrish," you whisper after reading the message twice more, letting your arm drop to your side with the parchment still gripped between your fingers as you stare wide eyed at the guard. "She actually listened to me."

The man gazes back at you in confusion, nodding his head uncertainly as he glances between you and the letter in your hand. Your mother's reply is still processing in your sleep addled brain, but it is not long before the full force of it hits you like a horse drawn wagon.

You rush past the guard without a second thought, leaving the door to your quarters wide open as you slip hurriedly into the elevator, rattling off your destination to the still befuddled guard. He forces the door closed behind you and your skin is practically humming with excitement as the elevator ascends up the tower, the ride seeming to last forever before the metal box comes to a shuddering stop and the doors are pulled open once more.

The guards on the other side seem slightly surprised to see you, but you pay them no attention as you rush to the door that leads into the commander's quarters, rapping your knuckles impatiently against the wood. It takes several long agonising seconds before you hear a muffled reply and you are still teetering in between shock and excitement as you throw open the door, glancing around the room until your eyes fall on the dishelved figure sitting upright in bed, illuminated by the glow of several candles placed around the otherwise dark room.

The sight gives you pause, as you take in the commander's sleep ruffled hair, free of braids, along with the thin sleep shirt that covers her torso and hangs off one shoulder. Her face is clear of kohl and her eyes are wide with surprise as she takes in your sudden appearance, her eyebrows rising when her gaze falls to your bare legs. You feel your skin flush, suddenly thankful for the dim light as you tug at the edge of your sleep shirt, regretting your sudden impulse to visit the commander before dressing.

The moment thankfully passes and you stop caring, ignoring your embaressment in favor of waving around the letter in your hand.

"They're coming," you say excitedly, earning an entirely confused look from the commander, but you hurry on anyway. "They're actually coming, all of them."

"Who are, Klark?" The commander asks, her voice husky from sleep, sending a surprising shiver down your spine. Your eyes fall briefly to the commander's bare shoulder, exposing unblemished tanned skin, but you shake your head quickly and return your gaze to the commander's confused expression.

"My people!" You exclaim, watching as recognition finally seeps into the commander's dazed expression. "The entire army, they will be here within a fortnight. More than one thousand strong azgeda warriors."

The commander exhales a heavy breath, slumping back against her pillows as she regards you with wide eyes. You know that she had been worried, same as you, that your mother would reject your call to arms, though she had not voiced her concerns to you out loud. You felt a weight lift from your shoulders at the news and you could only imagine that the commander felt the same.

"That is good news, Klark," the commander says finally, bringing her hands up to run her fingers through her unruly brown locks. Your eyes follow the movement unconciously, only returning your gaze to the commander's face when she speaks once more. "Hopefully your mother's willingness to involve your people in this war so wholeheartedly will inspire some of the other clan leaders to do the same."

"We can hope, right?" You return with a crooked grin before shrugging your shoulders, feeling suddenly embaressed at your almost childish enthusiasm. Not to mention your unexpected arrival in the commander's quarters, half dressed. The handmaidens were going to have a field day with this piece of gossip. "I apologize for the intrusion, I just wanted to let you know the news. I will leave you to your rest now, heda."

"I appreciate it, Klark," the commander says, her lips twitching in amusement, which of course, only has you feeling even more mortified. "I will send someone for you before midday, so that we can discuss this further before you must leave to help Onya."

You nod your head, still feeling somewhat giddy as you spin around on your heel, striding to the door with light steps, feeling almost weightless. You don't look back as you open the door to the commander's quarters, but you can still feel the other woman's eyes on you as you slip out of the room.

You blame the way your heart pounds in your chest on the letter in your hands, not because of the woman on the other side of the door.

You are sitting in your quarters with Reivon, dicussing the impending arrival of your people, when the commander's messenger comes for you at midday. You are surprised when the young woman tells you that heda has requested your immediate prescence in the throne room, but she offers you no further information when you question her as to why. You share a glance with Reivon, who raises her eyebrows in response, before shrugging your shoulders and gesturing for your friend to follow you from the room.

"What do you think this is about?" Reivon asks you as you wait for the elevator to reach your level, crossing her arms over her chest. She is wearing the dark red half armor that you had brought for her this morning in the markets and you gaze at it appreciatively as the torchlight flickers off the leather enticingly.

"I have no idea," you reply with a tiny furrow in your brow. "I was meant to be meeting with her in her quarters as usual, but it seems our meeting place has been exchanged for another today, though I have no idea as to why."

Reivon is quiet with contemplation for a few moments before she glances at you from the corner of her eye. "Will she mind me coming with you?"

Before you can reply, you hear the elevator shudder to a stop outside your floor and you wait patiently as the guard pulls the doors open. You raise an eyebrow at the occupants already crowded inside, before returning your gaze to Reivon.

"I do not think she will mind at all, actually." You say as you step into the elevator, giving Luna a brief smile from where she is leaning against the metal wall. You are forced to stand inbetween the leader of the floudonkru and Indra kom trikru, who gives you an angry look as your shoulder brushes against hers in the tight space. You roll your eyes, smiling at Reivon, who is practically pressed flush up against your chest in the packed elevator and you only grin wider at the other woman's flinch when the metal contraption begins to move.

"We really need to do something about this fear of yours, my friend," you say with a soft chuckle, patting Reivon's leather covered hip as she scowls darkly at you in response. "It is quite impractical."

"Shut up, princess," Reivon mutters, even as her fingers tighten on your wrist as the elevator shudders and groans.

You turn your head slightly to catch Luna watching the two of you with a hint of confusion and it takes you a moment to realise that she cannot understand you.

"She does not like the elevator," you murmur conspirationally to Luna, whose eyes widen slightly with recognition before a knowing smirk pulls at her full lips. You hear a soft grunt of disdain from your right and you snap your head around to glare immediately at the leader of the trikru, ignoring the two burly warriors at her back. "Is there something you wanted to say, Indra?"

"Not to you," Indra practically hisses, her dark eyes narrowed dangerously as she regards you with distrust. "The commander may have fallen under your spell, and Luna here, but I have not, little girl. I will not ally myself with Wanheda."

Your upper lift pulls back in a snarl, even as you feel Luna's hand wrap warningly around your arm, along with Reivon's fingers digging into your skin. "Too bad our people have been forced into peace by the commander's coalition. I would enjoy showing you just what this little girl can do."

Indra's threatening growl rumbles in her chest in response, raising the fine hairs on the back of your neck, but there is no time for retalition when the elevator comes to a grinding halt. You throw the older woman one last angry look as the doors as forced open, giving Reivon a gentle shove into the corridor before you turn to follow her. Your muscles feel tense as you turn your back to the trikru leader, even though you know that is she too honorable to attack your turned back. Your fingers twitch for a weapon nonetheless and you are scowling heavily as you stalk into the throne room with Reivon at your side, watching you worriedly from the corner of her eye.

You find that you are the last few clans leaders to arrive in the throne room, with the commander already waiting on her raised dais. She watches you as you enter the room but you do not return her gaze as you stride towards the far corner, putting as much distance between yourself and Indra as you can. You feel angry and irritable, annoyed that you let Indra get to you with so few words and not even Luna's prescence as she comes to stand at your side can calm you. You cross your arms over your chest, the muscles in your forearms twitching as you clench your hands into tight fists, staring down at the ground with narrowed eyes.

You only look up when you feel a pair of eyes burning into the top of your head, meeting the commander's gaze from across the room. Her expression is as guarded as always, but her green eyes are muddled with confusion and another emotion that you can only describe as concern as she stares back at you. She tilts her head slightly in question as she holds your gaze and you feel your tense muscles relax minututely for every moment that you stare into her eyes, until you feel a sembelence of calm return to you.

You force a smile onto your lips and give a tiny shake of your head and the commander looks away, seemingly satisfied as she turns to regard the other clan leaders.

"I have asked you all here this day to discuss a change in our schedule," the commander begins, sending a ripple of confusion and surprise throughout the small crowd. You feel a small frown furrow your brow, tilting your head slightly to catch Luna's eye, only to find her looking equally confused. "In previous meetings, we had decided that we would begin our march upon the Mountain on the day after the spring festival," Leska continues, earning nods of acceptance from the clan leaders. "But plans change."

You raise your eyebrows in surprise, feeling some of the tension return to your shoulders as you stare at the commander. On the other side of the room, you notice Kostia has resumed her place on the raised dais to the commander's left and her hazel eyes are sad as she gazes at her lover. She hasn't been present at any of the meetings since the summit and you wonder what this change of plans entails if it has caused her to return.

"Our plans have progressed much quicker than I expected, faster than I ever dared to hope," the commander says, clasping her hands behind her back. "And so I have decided, after dicussing it with my advisers, that we will not wait until the spring festival to move upon the Mountain-"

"But, heda," Hephan kom ouskejonkru interrupts, his brown eyes wide. "My people have only just begun to march-"

"I am aware of this, Hephan," the commander cuts him off with a sharp raise of her hand. "I understand that ouskejonkru and boudalan have much distance to cover and I intend to make their journey easier. Trigedakru have already begun setting up camp in the plains, under the watchful eye of my general, Onya, and I will have your kru and the people of Boudalan and Podakru end their march there. Sangedakru and the Ingranrona are due to arrive in the capital at any moment, along with the delfikru and the people of yuljeda. I have sent out our fastest horses to the floudonkru and the trishana, redirecting their armies towards the plains, where we will march to meet them once the people of the louwada kliron and azgeda arrive in the capital."

There is silence in the room as the words are processed; some people look worried while other are thoughtful. You feel as if your skin is on fire, muscles flexing in preparation for battle. You had not expected this, but you could not say that you were adverse to the idea.

Despite popular belief, you did not find joy in taking lives; you hated the metallic smell of blood, the scars that lined your back beneath your shirt. War is not what you desire, but you admit that you feel a shiver of excitement at the thought of bringing down the Mountain. The thought of avenging your father and countless others is more than a little bit enticing and the sooner, the better, in your humble opinion.

"And when will they arrive?" Luna asks from your side, though the question and her curious eyes are directed at you. The commander turns her head to gaze at you expectantly and you lick your dry lips before you reply.

"Less than a fortnight," you answer, turning your head slightly to meet Luna's gaze before returning your eyes to the commander, who nods her head shortly in response.

"Fourteen days," the commander confirms, returning her gaze to the rest of the room. "My advisers are sending messagers into the streets as we speak to inform the people of Polis of our impending depature. Fourteen days until we march upon the Mountain."

The commander's green eyes are alive as she meets the stunned gazes of each person in the room, tilting her head slightly with a mirthless smirk adorning her full lips.

"Prepare yourselves," is all she says, before she dismisses you all with a wave.

"So," Belomi says slowly, looking up from the mug in his hands to glance at the people around the table. Your entire kru is there, along with Luna and her guards, plus a handful of others from different clans who had wandered over to join you when you arrived at the outdoor tavern. You had sent Reivon out to round up your people as soon as you left the throne room, while Luna had sent her guard, Luka, to do the same, so that you could share the news together. "What now?"

"Nothing has changed," you reply, after sharing a quick glance with Luna and recieving a small nod in response. "We will do as we have been for the past two weeks, until our people arrive and it is time for us to leave. It is honestly better this way; if the commander had chosen to wait, we would have hunted out all the game in the surrounding area and left the city to starvation once we left. There is not enough space around Polis to hold the twelve armies of the coalition and without enough work to focus on, fights would have started soon enough."

"Also," Luna cuts in diplomatically, raising her mug. "If we had waited another month and a half, we surely would have desolated the capitals supply of wine and who would want to stick around after that?"

It is amusing how Luna's words effect the occupants of the table more than your own and you can only smile and shake your head as your kru nods thoughtfully, while the floukru guards look simply aghast at the idea of no wine.

"My warriors are bringing an entire wagon full of our best wine to the plains, along with the rest of the supplies," Luna adds with a grin, giving you a small wink.

"You are bringing wine to the plains?" You ask, though you aren't truly surprised; you don't miss the thoughtful look that Monti and Jaspa share behind your back either and you know they are thinking about their casks of moonshine.

"Of course," Luna responds, looking almost afronted. "We are going to war, Klark, we could die. We may as well make the most of it and I plan on spending every moment that I am not on the battle field as drunk as I can possibly be."

You roll your eyes, though you are smiling, since you cannot fault her for her reasoning. You glance up at the sky, taking note of the time with a sigh before you return your gaze to the table.

"Our plans haven't changed," you repeat as eyes once more focus upon you intently. "We will continue to do as heda has commanded of us, until it is time for us to leave. Tomorrow, that may be helping the sangedakru set up camp in the plains outside the capital and the next day we will train with the other warriors of the coaliton, but today, we are helping the trikru build wagons on the outskirts of the city and we are late."

Your people let out a collective groan in response, muscles surely still aching after yesterday, but you ignore them as you stand up from your seat, glaring down at your kru who are much too slow to follow you.

"Let's go," you snap, clapping your hands together sharply as you wait, while Luna watches on with amusement. "If any of you let me down today, or if I catch any of you picking fights, I will personally make sure that it is your sole job to clean out the camp latrines in the plains when we are fighting the Mounon."

Your people move much faster after that piece of information, shooting up from their seats and beginning their march to the cities gates. You turn to Luna, who is still watching your people walk away with their shoulders slumped in defeat, and you raise your eyebrow in response.

"You too, Luna kom floukru," you say, earning a rare look of surprise from the clan leader, who stares back at you with wide grey eyes.

"Excuse me?" She asks politely, even as she sinks down further in her seat beneath your stare. "You do not command me, Klark."

"No, but that can be arranged," you practically purr, smirking as Luna's eyes widen even further. "Now, get up. I have a bottle of mead that I confisticated from Monti and Jaspa yesterday, we can finish it while we work."

You turn away after giving a not so gentle kick to her chair leg, and you smile when you hear Luna's quiet sigh of defeat as she stands up to follow you.