Summary:

Six and the Happy Trails Caravan reach the Canyon lands - a world of incredible and lush natural beauty that had been untouched by the Great War. When the team stops to set up a temporary camp to rest up, they encounter a young tribal woman. Familiar with the language of the tribals in the area, Jed communicates with the young girl who agrees to take them to her people's camp. Six learns about the art of trade when there is no currency involved, and has an incredible experience learning about the people of the Mojave, their traditions and language that has survived the ravages of Colonialism and the Nuclear War.

With Gael in her arms, Ash comes across a lodge on their way to the Sorrows tribe and decides to stop for a while to get some rest. Inside the lodge they find it is in almost pristine condition with tables and chairs set up as if it was waiting for new customers. After having a filling meal and taking a bit of time to rest Ash and Gael get back on the road, only to encounter a hungry Yaoguai blocking their path.

Chapter Text

"Ho hooo", Jed called to his brahmin, firmly pulling on her reign to slow the beast to a stop. The Happy Trails Caravan had covered a lot of ground since the morning and everyone was in need of a well-deserved break. Luckily, the group had found a nice spot to set up a temporary camp at a nearby stream. Compared to where they started from in the Mojave, the land all around them was luscious and clean with no sign of civilization around; they truly were in the Canyon lands now, and Six couldn't think of a more beautiful place she'd ever seen. She climbed up to the top of one of one of the rockfaces near where they stopped to set up camp, and from her almost ten-foot-tall perch she could see the journey that awaited ahead of them. There was nothing but canyon lands as far as her eyes could see. Although the land was rocky, it was predominantly level and peppered with living green shrubbery, trees, and a clear knee-deep stream snaking toward the north-west. The air was so clean and sweet smelling that every breath Six took made her feel refreshed and wanting more. If she was the type to settle down into a slower pace of life, this would be the perfect place to make herself a home; but with so much adventure waiting for her at her feet, that future would have to wait.

Behind her she could see the high canyon wall where they'd emerged from earlier that day, taking an old mining tunnel that had been dug since before the bombs fell. Six didn't miss her time spent in those dark tunnels, which were home to several unpleasant creatures they had to deal with, including a few viscous feral ghouls that pounced on the poor brahmin. Shivering at the recollection of that battle, she hoped they weren't going to take the same route when returning to New Vegas.

Six found a perfect spot for a campfire next to a rocky outcropping and dropped her bag next to it.

"I'll go get us some firewood for a campfire", she said making sure her call was loud enough for the others to hear before proceeding to her task. In these unknown parts of the Canyon lands, it was important that everyone knew what everyone was doing so as not to lose each other.

"Don't be going too far", she heard Jed's voice call out.

Six liked Jed. He was a stern but friendly man and had buckets of patience when dealing with both customers and his crew, though how he kept from losing his temper with Ricky, Six would never know. The rest of the people in the caravan group were alright by her, competent with holding their own in a fight and they had their own interesting backstories that Six liked to listen to when they took breaks.

Rummaging through some dead twigs and brushes, Six collected a fair amount of fuel for their fire before she started heading back to the others; that was until a twig snapping a couple of feet away from her made her freeze in her tracks. Her eyes darted to the right where she heard the noise and her arm hovered close to her revolver at her hip. It was most likely a small critter, but Six wasn't going to take any risks.

Another crunch of twigs and Six unholstered her weapon, aiming it in the direction of the sound, but what she saw next surprised her. Out from behind some waist high thick shrubs, a human head hesitantly peered out from their cover. Six stood perfectly still with her pistol still in her hand, unsure whether this newcomer was friend or foe.

"Who are you?" Six asked in a calm tone, not wanting to antagonise or scare them off.

The newcomer's face fully emerged from behind cover and they tilted their head in amusement, "Ooo ar oo", they uttered back.

"Guessing you don't speak English then", Six said slowly putting away her gun and holding her arms out in a gesture of peace. By the looks of them they were a young girl no older than 13 or 14. Slowly coming out from the brushes, Six noted how remarkable she appeared; her shoulder length hair was a beautiful jet black colour, cut with a long wispy fringe that framed her features attractively and her sun kissed skin was decorated with a greyish clay paint in intricate and pretty lines and swirls. She wore a light grey coloured skirt with an interesting pattern with zig zags and triangles of varying colours, and a light cream sleeveless shirt. Her clothing appeared to be made of a mix of natural materials and she wasn't wearing any shoes.

"I'm Six", Six pointed to herself, before pointing to the young girl and asking who she was.

At first it didn't appear that the girl understood, but when Six repeated the girl smiled up at her and replied "Mosa".

"Mosa huh? That your name?" Six asked.

"Mosa", the girl re-iterated coming out of her hiding to examine Six.

"That's a pretty name", Six replied hesitantly, allowing the girl to examine her, touching her long duster jacket and dark brown Stetson hat. "Where are your parents, Mosa?", Six gazed around them in an attempt to catch a glimpse of anyone else.

"Six? Where are we on that firewood?" Jed's voice called out some distance away, startling both her and Mosa.

"It's okay, he's a friend", Six nodded to the girl and slowly turned in the direction of the caravan company, "You wanna come meet the others?"

She held out her hand to the girl, offering to escort her to Jed and the others, "Maybe we can help find your parents, eh?"

Mosa smiled and took her hand, allowing herself to be led back to the Happy Trails Caravan camping spot. Upon arrival they were both met with confused and concerned glances from the others, one of the guards even kept his hand on his laser rifle while his widened eyes warily tracked the girl.

"Put that thing away!" Jed called when he saw who Six brought in, "She's not a threat".

"But sir-" the guard protested, only to be cut off mid-sentence.

"You heard me! Put it away!" Jed stared his overly zealous caravan guard down until the man relented, then turned his attention to Six and Mosa standing to the side. He made a motion with his hand and spoke in a language to her that Six had never heard before, but the girl certainly seemed more at ease. She replied back with an enthusiastic tone in her voice, then pointed in a north westerly direction before running off.

"Hey! Wait!" Six called at her but it was too late, "What did you say to her?" she asked curiously turning to Jed.

"She's one of the natives in these lands. Her family's camp is not too far away from here", Jed answered, wrapping the rope from his brahmin's harness around his arm a few times and giving it a tug to get the animal to follow him, "We've been invited for the afternoon meal. Mosa is going on ahead to let her family know that we're coming".

"So…we're not camping here?" the caravan guard who had aimed his weapon at the girl asked hesitantly.

"No, we'll rest up at Mosa's camp. We might even do a bit of trading", Jed replied with a grin on his weathered face.

This was a chance for Six to see first-hand how caravan traders worked in the wastes. Caravan work always intrigued her, but she never saw herself doing this kind of work; in a Caravan you are not only a trader, you are also an animal handler and veterinarian when your brahmin is injured or gets sick, medic when your guards are in need of medical help, translator when you run into tribes, and most of importantly of all – a caravan is often times a team of explorers, establishing new trade routes and alliances. Without the caravans, society would have permanently perished when the bombs dropped.

When the Happy Trails Caravan finally arrived at Mosa's camp, they were excitedly welcomed by everyone, young and old alike. Jed explained to Six that despite the nuclear war that was waged over 200 years ago, Native American tribes remained largely intact and unaffected. The reservations were a thing of the past now. Despite the fact that the reservations were inherently created by bigoted and intolerant white men of the Old World, it had ultimately ensured their survival as the Chinese were more interested in obliterating the American government's military forces and capabilities. Six couldn't help but see the irony in that. Once the dust had settled after the bombs, the people reclaimed their lands and relearned skills of their ancestors that helped them survive the arid terrain. Even with all that painful history between them, Mosa's Mojave tribe eagerly welcomed them into their camp, offering them food, drink, and some beautiful and unique fabrics they had crafted. But first things first, they needed to meet with the tribe's Chief; it was disrespectful to engage with the others without giving their first greeting to him.

The Chief of the Mojave tribe was a middle aged man with shoulder length hair and, when Six gazed at his features, she couldn't help but notice how similar they were to Mosa's.

'That must be her father', she thought, scanning the area for the young girl. She caught a glimpse of her not far away engaged in some games with the other children.

"Greetings, travellers", the Chief spoke in perfect English, taking both Six and the other Caravan personnel aback, all except for Jed who seemed to be on friendly terms with the Chief.

"How you doing Ira?" Jed shook the Chief's hand, wide grins on both their faces.

"You know each other?" Six asked.

"Sure do. The Chief and I here go a ways back", Jed smiled.

"Hello", the Chief smiled at her, extending his hand for a shake, "I am Irataba. My daughter told me you were coming".

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Chief Irataba", Six accepted his handshake with a friendly smile.

As soon as everyone else greeted the Chief, they were ushered to the middle of the camp where the main fire was being stoked to prepare the food. The children were called in to help their elders, but many of them were distracted with the newcomers – particularly with Six and her strawberry blonde locks. She giggled at their curiosity and took off her Stetson hat, which surprised them even more.

"Please excuse the children, we don't get visitors often", Chief Irataba laughed, "Much less those with fair hair such as yourself".

"I noticed", Six grinned, allowing herself to be studied by the curious children who were all speaking in the same unfamiliar language she'd heard Jed share with Mosa, "What are they saying?"

"They say your hair is like corn silk", Jed laughed, accepting a drink handed to him by one of the tribesmen.

Just as the children's curiosity turned to what Six had in her backpack, they were firmly called to help with the chores by the elders who scolded them for trying to snoop in their guest's belongings as they scrambled, leaving Six to sit in peace with the other adults.

"They think you bring them presents", Chief Irataba laughed. His comment made Six wish she had taken some toys with her to give to them.

"Maybe we have something that'll keep the young ones entertained", Jed added, and immediately the two men went about discussing trade. Since the Mojave tribe did not use cap currency, barter was done with goods and services: a purchase of a few rugs, fabrics, or supplies could be paid with items of equal value that they had with them, or by helping the tribe make repairs to their homes or even teaching them something new.

Shortly after the Chief and Jed concluded their trade talks, lunch was ready and being served to everyone. The smell alone was enough to make the company salivate. Everyone was handed a bowl of squash, corn, chilli, tato and pinyon nut stew with a large purple corn tortilla bigger than Six's head. Not a moment later she was handed a wooden plate with what looked like baked grey clay longer than her forearm on it. Not knowing what to do, she waited until the tribe dug into their own plates, watching as they took their eating utensils and cracked the clay to reveal a parcel wrapped in corn husk. Six copied them, cracking the clay on her own plate and untying the husk wrapper. Although that stew they had was almost enough to satiate her, smelling the steam that emanated from the inside her parcel made her hungrier. Inside the wrapper was a whole gutted fish cooked in a blend of delicious herbs and spices Six had never come across. Using her two-pronged wooden fork, she dug into the juicy and flaky fish… It was the best thing she'd ever tasted.

"You enjoying the food?", Jed asked in amusement, watching Six as she savoured every bite.

"It's the best I've ever had", Six replied after swallowing a mouthful of fish.

"Good! That is what we like to hear", the Chief replied with a big grin.

After the food and a bit of rest, the remainder of the day passed in a blur. To help Jed pay the tribespeople for the items they agreed to trade, Six helped some of the elders with chores around the camp and fixing their rifles. She'd found out that the majority of the natives did speak English but preferred to converse in their native tongue as a way to keep their culture and identities alive. It wasn't long ago that their people almost lost everything, including their language and traditions, when the European invaders came. It began with steadily taking their lands and the riches it had to offer, then their people and their lives. As their populations dwindled, even their language and traditions began to fade; if it wasn't for the elders who spread the knowledge of their histories, language, and food, the many native tribes that resided in the Mojave wasteland would have vanished into the ether. Six took the time to speak to the elders, to learn more about their histories, even asked if they could teach her some of their words so she could remember them by, to which the elders agreed excitedly.

It was late evening by the time trade was complete, and the Happy Trails Caravan was welcomed to spend the night with the tribe. Jed accepted happily and everyone was treated once again to a delicious evening meal, this time consisting of blue corn mush and big horner glazed steak in a deliciously sweet and smoky berry sauce. It was the best food Six had ever had in her life.

As she lay in her sleeping bag after the tribe called it a night, Six stared up at the big clear sky, watching the stars twinkle down at them and a crisp gentle breeze help lull them to sleep with the gentle sound of crickets chirping nearby. She could see why Jed liked this life so much, and it made her grateful that she was able to be part of this once in a lifetime experience.

Two hours into her trek to the Sorrows camp with Gael in her arms, Ash's temper was beginning to cool somewhat, and she was second guessing the decision she'd made to leave the Dead Horses. So far they didn't run into anything that Ash couldn't handle on their way, but with every step they took further away from the Dead Horses and their hunting trails, a pit was growing in Ash's core. Thoughts of worst-case scenarios began popping into her head: what if they ran into a nest of mirelurks? What if this river they were following wasn't actually the one that would take them to the Sorrows? What if they were intercepted by a White Legs scouting party?...

'There's time to go back if you want, it's not too late to change your mind', a voice tempted her in the back of her head, 'They are probably still training and haven't noticed you've been gone'. Then the memory of what she'd seen that morning, with Aelius going behind her back with Smiling Flower, came rushing back and Ash felt her eyes well up. She didn't know how or why it happened, but Ash wasn't going to let herself be made a fool…not again.

As she carried on walking upriver, memories of her past drifted through her mind like a stream; memories of her journey to New Vegas when she was a young woman and meeting her soon to be husband, Lt. Gunner Ward, for the first time. He was tall, dark and handsome, a classic figure of the ideal American man that she'd seen many times in Old World posters and magazines. She remembered how charming he was and was immediately drawn to his magnetic personality. A farmer boy who was fresh out of 1st Recon training, Gunner met Ash on the very first mission he'd been assigned to. Even though he was still a newbie in the field, he was a heck of a shot with his sniper rifle; those Viper gangs never stood a chance. After only a month of courting and still under the influence of young infatuated love, he took her to the top of the roof of McCarran airport and, with the mesmerising view of New Vegas' dancing neon lights as their backdrop, got down on one knee and proposed to her… How could she say no?

Less than three months into their marriage and Ash found out she was pregnant with Gael, but even before their son was born she could sense the intensity of their young love slowly but surely begin to dwindle. She recalled the breaking point that came the day after Gunner came back from an assignment at Bitter Springs; everything went downhill from then on.

Substance abuse became a common theme in their marriage; he would go on a binge of alcohol and drugs, only to be brought back from the brink several times by Ash. Those were some of the darkest times in her life and she was incredibly thankful that Gael was too young to remember seeing his father so high and drunk off his face that he couldn't even drag himself the few feet to the bathroom to relieve himself.

Shortly after he promised to sober up for the last time, that it was never going to happen again and that he would do better by them, Ash was privately approached by Manny Vargas, a colleague of her husband in the sniper battalion, with some…unsavoury information. It turned out that Gunner was unfaithful and regularly broke their marriage vows with a woman called Joana at Gomorrah. That was the point Ash knew she couldn't love her husband the same way ever again, and all the emotions she'd felt when hearing those words from Manny Vargas about her husband came flooding back when she saw Aelius that morning. There was no chance in hell she was going to repeat the same mistake twice.

"Mom, when are we going home?" Gael asked, fidgeting in her arms.

"Well, I thought it would be good to go see your grandma Dawn for a while", Ash answered, trying to put the news of their move in a way her son would find enticing, "She misses you and said there's lot's of kids at her camp that heard about you and were hoping you would come by to play with them".

"Really?" he asked enthusiastically.

'Worked like a charm', Ash thought.

"Yeah. And your uncle Joshua was saying to me how he was going to teach you how to track geckos next time he sees you", Ash added, knowing it was a half lie but using

"Aelius taught me that", he grinned proudly up at her, and Ash had to resist wincing at the mention of his name.

"Did he? Well… You can show off your skills to your uncle, and if you're well behaved and respectful I'm sure he'll be happy to show you some more advanced skills".

Gael seemed pretty pleased with that; however it didn't stop him from fidgeting until Ash put him down so he could let out some of that pent up energy. It was just as well, seeing as they were nearing an old world camping spot with an abandoned alpine style cabin. As they neared the ground, Ash saw a weathered old world sign where she could barely distinguish three words painted on it without squinting: "Zion Fishing Lodge". By this point they'd been walking for miles and both she and Gael were getting hungry. Keeping Gael close by her side, they entered the old and creaky cabin with Ash in front armed with her machete. Apart from a few radroaches and some overgrown ants, which Ash took care of without any difficulty, the cabin was completely deserted. It was an L-shaped cabin lodge that had a dining section with a large pool table in the middle and a bar section in the back with cabinets and a cooking counter, and seeing as all the tables were empty they had their pick of where they wanted to sit.

"Alright Gael, you wanna pick out a table for us?" Ash asked, letting her son roam the dining hall area while she busied herself with checking the kitchen for some food for them. All things considering, the cabin was in excellent condition. Ash found several preserved boxes of instamash, yum yum devilled eggs, pork and beans, and boxes of Salisbury steak that, if they chose to stay here, would last them weeks before they had to go out and scavenge for food. It was odd to her that the place hadn't been picked clean; if they were in New Vegas this place would have been stripped to the bare walls.

Warming up some instamash and two Salisbury steaks for them on the kitchen stove, Ash set a table for the two of them and they sat down to a delicious meal. Even Gael, who was particularly fussy with his food, finished off his plate and asked if he could have seconds.

"Of course you can!" Ash chuckled, amazed at how he was able to eat a full plate of food and still be hungry.

By the time Gael had finished his second plate, this time with what was left of the packet of instamash and half a box of yum yum devilled eggs, Ash found two walkie-talkies, a copy of Lad's Life and Patriot's Cookbook that she stashed in her bag along with some food for the rest of the road. All they had to do was keep following the river up north and, if the two of them could maintain a moderate walking pace, they should arrive at the edge of the Sorrows camp within the next two hours.

"You all set to head out?" Ash called out to her son who finished up in the bathroom and was walking with a bit more spring in his step.

"Yup!" he nodded enthusiastically.

"Ok then! Let's go see grandma Dawn. If we're quick we might get there before dinner time", Ash slung her bag over her shoulders and followed Gael who ran to the door.

"Not so fast Gael, wait for mommy", she called behind him but he had already unlocked the door and was making his way down the steps by the time she got to the entrance.

She was about to reprimand him when she noticed he'd frozen in his tracks a few yards from the stairs, mesmerised by a petrifying image of a giant yao guai standing taller than Ash from paw to its shoulders lumbering up the hill towards them. Its dark brown skin was patchy with fur and oddly shaped nodules as if it had pebble-like tumours just beneath its skin in some areas, and its muscular body rippled with every step it drew. There was no weapon in her arsenal that would enable her to deal with this creature; if it decided to make a run at them, Ash knew that would mean their end.

"Gael! Don't move", she whispered urgently, her terrified gaze fixed on the yao guai as she crouched and moved slowly toward her son.

"Mom?" Gael whimpered as the beast spotted them and stopped a mere fifty feet away from them, revealing its long and yellowed dagger like teeth.

"It's okay, it's okay", Ash repeated, trying to calm herself as much as her son, "Here, take my hand, we'll go back inside and let it be on its way", she reached out her arm and grabbed hold of her son's hand, gently and slowly taking him back up the stairs. The yao guai's throat rumbled in response, and it lowered its massive head, its dark eyes fixated on them as it flared its nostrils to take in their scent.

Just as Ash and Gael made it back up the steps, the yao guai released a deep rumbling roar and charged at them.

"Run Gael!", Ash screamed, pushing her son through the door and closing it behind them, but that only gave them enough time for Gael to lock himself in the bathroom before it broke through the main door with a thunderous rumble, releasing a deafening roar of victory as Ash fell to the floor in front of it, gazing up at the petrifying creature that towered over her. Instinctively pulling her machete out, she furiously swung her blade at the yao guai's face catching it several times in the chest and its muscular arms; it seemed to work. The towering creature flinched back, baring its vicious teeth at her in anger as Ash fought back.

"Get away!" she shrieked at the mutated bear brandishing her weapon as she crouched low, but her attempts to push the bear back out and into the parking area only angered it even more. With a growl and one swipe of its powerful paw it struck her hard to the ground, knocking the air out of her lungs. Clutching her chest and gasping for breath as stars flashed in her eyes, a deeply rooted terror began to flood through her body with paralysing efficacy.

'This is it…", she realised, overcome with a sense of fear and helplessness for her situation. The last thought that played through her mind as the bear opened its deathly jaws to crush the life out of her, was that her death might spare her son.

She closed her eyes tightly and took a last deep inhale of the sweet early evening air as she felt the animal's hot breath draw near.

She was ready… But as the bear's teeth skimmed her skin, a deafening roar escaped its throat and Ash sensed it move away from her, feeling the thuds of its massive weight reverberate through the ground. This was it, her chance to escape. It wasn't until she scurried off under the safety of the support structure of the lodge that she saw Aelius attacking the animal. He moved quickly, dodging the bear's claws and teeth when it lunged at him and swiping it with his polished machete, the bright flashes of light reflecting off his blade dazzling and confusing it.

It retreated a few steps holding its head higher in an attempt to see its prey better, unwittingly revealing its neck to Aelius' weapon. With a swift motion Ash heard his blade connect with flesh and slice through thick skin and muscle. The yao guai's eyes widened in fury and fear as it carried out one last attack on Aelius, sinking its teeth into his right shoulder before it collapsed to the dry ground in a cloud of dust, blood pouring out of its neck in pulses as its heart slowly stopped beating.

"Ashley?! Gael?!" Aelius called out urgently, dropping his machete to the ground.

Ash ran out from under her cover and headed inside the lodge to where she saw Gael lock himself away.

"Gael?! Open up, it's mom", she cried, urgently knocking on the door for her son. With a faint click the door swung open and Gael wrapped his small arms around her legs, burying his sobbing face into his mother.

"Are you two alright?" Aelius asked behind her, holding his injured shoulder.

After she checked her son over and nodded in affirmation, "Yes, we're alright… thanks again to you", she admitted.

Aelius exhaled a sigh of relief and hung his head, "For a moment there I thought I was too late".

A cold shiver went through Ash's body making her shudder; if Aelius had not caught up to them when he did, if he'd come even a few seconds later, she would have perished in its jaws. The overwhelming sensation brought her to tears.

"Hey, it's alright", Aelius took a few steps closer, placing his good arm tenderly on her shoulder, "You're both safe now, that's all that matters".

In that moment she didn't care what he'd done that morning – he had saved both their lives again and all Ash could do to repay that courage and selflessness was fall into his embrace.

Aelius knelt down so he could comfort them both, taking Gael up in his arm as the three of them held each other tightly. A few moments later they heard the thud of rushing footsteps outside, bringing their attention back to their present situation.

It was Follows Chalk and two other members of the Dead Horses tribe; they had followed behind Aelius when he made a run to catch Ash and Gael.

"What happened?" Follows Chalk's eyes shifted between the three of them until they focused on Aelius's bloody shoulder, "Aelius, you are hurt!"

Aelius felt Ash break her embrace as her attention fell to his shoulder.

"Oh my God, you're bleeding", she whispered making a dash behind one of the counters in search of alcohol to rinse his wound with.

"I'm fine Ash, it's just a bite. I can hold off until we get to the Sorrows", he waved her concern away but Ash wasn't listening. Opening a bottle of vodka and dousing a clean cloth with it, she poured it over his wound and wrapped the cloth over his shoulder. Aelius winced and gritted his teeth as Ash disinfected the large bite mark that travelled from the top of his shoulder to the bottom of his pectoral muscle, accepting her help with silent gratitude.

"Hoo! That's going to leave a scar", Follows Chalk commented, picking Gael up and wiping the tears off his face, "Don't cry young Gael, you're safe now, neh?"

Once Ash and Gael's nerves had calmed a bit, Aelius asked for a moment of privacy between him and Ash so they could speak privately. He pulled out her note from a pouch in his belt and looked down at it hesitantly.

"Ash… I read your note", he started, not sure how to address the problem, "I don't understand what you meant. There is no other woman, only you".

Ash heaved a heavy sigh and ran her fingers through her knotted hair, "Earlier today… this morning actually… I saw you with Smiling Flower", she answered in a hushed tone, "You asked her to show you how to seal the bond between you two". Just uttering the words made her feel nauseated, but the intense anger she felt toward him not long ago had simmered down to annoyance.

"Oh… you heard that?" he asked hesitantly with a startled look in his eyes, wondering how much of their conversation Ash actually heard and if she knew about the upcoming ceremony, "…What else did you hear?"

"That you thought you should tell me what was going on", Ash folded her arms in front of her chest, her brow furrowing in frustration, "So what were you two doing there?"

"I can see how that phrasing might have been misunderstood in that situation", Aelius said, "I wasn't being unfaithful with Smiling Flower, nor any other woman in or out of the camp for that matter", Aelius looked into her eyes, hoping that his sincerity was enough to convince her.

"Then what were you doing with her that early in the morning?" Ash insisted, "Every morning you're up and out before us, no one knows or won't tell me what you're up to and every time I ask them they give me some random excuse and I can see that they're lying to me. Not to mention you've been so distant; you've been avoiding me and every time I try to be affectionate with you -".

"Ashlee", Aelius interrupted, placing both arms firmly on her shoulders and gazing into her eyes unblinkingly as he uttered his next words, "I swear to you that I'm not being unfaithful. You and Gael are the two most important people in my life; there is nothing and no one on this Earth that could ever take or tempt me away from you two".

Ash clenched her jaw in frustration as to why he "Then why can't you tell me?" she asked, peering at him imploringly.

"Because... If I told you, it wouldn't be special anymore", was all Aelius could muster.

Her eyes fixated on his intently, waiting for him to divulge what was going on. Ash was never fond of keeping secrets, especially after what had happened between her and her husband. When she realised that he wasn't going to budge, she relented and gave a curt nod.

"Fine… If you don't want to tell me, I understand".

"No I do want to tell you what it is, I feel like if I don't I might just burst", he laughed nervously, "But for what I want to tell you…or rather, ask you… it needs to remain a secret until the time is right".

A strong part of her wanted to keep on pressing until she got the bottom of the matter, but something in the back of her head urged her to drop the matter and accept Aelius' answer.

"Ok, I believe you", she added and observed the tension in Aelius' body ease.

"Good…", he replied, "Now… what do you say we get going? Not long until we reach the Sorrows camp".

Ash nodded and followed him out to meet with the other Dead Horses so they could regroup and make their way to the Sorrows. Holding her son in her arms and Aelius by her side, she knew they were both incredibly lucky to still be alive. If she hadn't left that note like she originally planned, no one would have known where they headed off to; although now that some of the air had been cleared between her and Aelius and she was more confident that he wasn't going behind her back as she'd originally thought, the best thing that she should have done was to wait and confront the issue in the camp.

'You need to cool your head Ash, we can't go repeating the same mistakes again… It got you into a heap of trouble the first time... Might not be so lucky if there ever is a third round', she chided herself as she followed the others.

The others Dead Horses behaved as if nothing had happened between Aelius and Ash, though it was a common thing among the tribe – no one wanted to poke their noses into the lives of others. This was something Ash admired about them.

She looked over at Aelius who had Gael riding on his shoulders and wondered what he was up to; what could be so important that he had to keep secret from her. Then again, she thought, who was she to judge Aelius from keeping secrets, when she herself had kept a significant one from him since the day they met.