The next three days were quiet – it was the standard marching, hunting for Ema, and the rest. There as hardly a peep from Daein, though Kaetar was sure that they were still following behind. Crimea on the other hand was gone. All that was left was a skeleton crew of one or two guards in a village and they knew better than to challenge the rebellion alone, so for the most part they only stared. Between Duma, Rykuu and the cold stare of Arum, there was a lot of people who looked intimating.

Syrin had sent the fliers out to Toha earlier to secure it, so Mike and Makken were gone, along with Chifee and Darius. Kaetar also thought it to be a little amusing that Aletta had decided that she was "close enough" to a flier and went along with them, riding on Makken's back. They were only to come back if there was something wrong, but they left two nights ago and there was no sign of them so far.

They passed by Tyre's mansion but they didn't not stop like they did last time. Kaetar looked at it for a brief moment before moving on. Arianna's father did not want the rebellion there so he would not bother him. However, he couldn't help but to feel a little sad about it. He wanted to know how Arianna was doing – it was not often that one actually got to meet their partner before they were set to be married, he realized. His first time meeting her in person could have very well have been on the altar. He didn't really give himself the chance to get to know her.

They also passed the checkpoint that Kaetar remembered waking up to but again, with the skeleton crew that Crimea had, there was actual no one there. Chibuike was probably right – the Crimeans were headed to Daein for whatever reason.

They didn't see any resistance even after finally landing in Toha. Arum and Elli were the first to step forward despite the fact that they haven't been there before. Elli seemed really excited and if Arum had any sort of emotion other than confusion, he didn't show it. He just didn't seem to know what to make of it when people began greeting him.

Syrin smirked. Just a little.

"So this is why you chose this place, huh?" Joel mumbled as he jumped off his horse and grabbed for the reins to make sure his horse didn't wander away.

"Toha is the only place in Crimea where we have sympathizers. It was only logical when the means for food and supplies are limited on the road."

"So Toha is somehow better? What if no one wants to trade with this place?" Rylar asked with a hiss. He was sitting on his father's shoulder. Kaetar couldn't tell if Duma was actually that big or if Rylar was a little smaller than he thought.

Syrin merely gestured to a figure on the horizon – Mike on top of Makken, circling around the boats.

"Mike?" Duma asked, practically throwing Rylar off of his shoulder.

"He can use his wyvern to easily get supplies for us, though I think Toha should be fine for now. It's not easy to hide a wyvern, so it's better if we can get him out to do things for us. Even if no one in Crimea will trade with us, we have two other beorc countries."

"Good afternoon, everyone!" a short man with grey hair said loudly, bowing down to Syrin. "I remember some of your faces. Welcome back to Toha, rebels."

"Thanks," Nicholas replied back.

"We don't have enough room at our inn for everyone but our villagers have offered to take some of you in as 'part of the family' so to say. You're welcomed here until you restore Ike's reputation."

"So which of us or staying at the inn?" Misha asked suddenly. "Someone of us have special needs." She looked at Arum who avoided meeting his eyes with her.

"Arum and I will need a room at the inn. Maybe even Kaetar and Loiya," Elli said quietly.

"I can definitely stay with someone else," Nicholas said with shrug.

"But I like it when you're in my room," Kaetar mumbled quietly. He truly was the best at waking him up at a decent time. Loiya was getting up early or not sleeping at all, preferring to watch diligently whenever he could. He was already used to Nicholas being around when he woke up groggy in the morning, so why change it?

"Look around before you decide. There's free housing everywhere, you can afford to be a little picky," Stefan mumbled with a shrug.

"A roof is a roof. I don't care how it looks. C'mon, Elli," Arum growled, motioning for Elli to follow him. She shrugged but didn't argue – not like she ever really did when it came to Arum.

"See you later," Stefan mumbled as he left with Elli in tow. "Can you direct us to the families that are willing to take us in?"

"Of course!" the mayor said with a nod.

The sun was already down by the time everyone was organized into a home or into the inn, then met together inside a restaurant. Kaetar chose a room at the inn and had one of the cots taken out of a double room to fit three cots in his room, so he didn't get the chance to really see where the others had chosen to live. It surprised Kaetar that most the branded seemed to have made themselves comfortable with families – Syrin was the only exception. It also surprised Kaetar that Rylar lived with a separate family that was easily on the other side of the town from his father.

Perhaps that was Duma forcing something like that. It would certainly give his son the chance to be a little more independent than he was. The more the prince thought about it though, the more he felt that maybe that wasn't the case. Rylar had said that Duma was attached to him due to the loss of his first child, who could be dead or alive. If anything, it was probably Syrin's idea to separate them.

Kaetar never did feel as though he really knew anyone who joined the rebellion. Whenever he thought he was starting to know someone, they say one thing that surprises him way more than it probably should have and never failed to make him think even more.

Rylar was already dressed differently. He was wearing plain grey pants that were a little too long for him, a pair of sandals and a loose fitting black shirt. He must have gotten it from the new family he was staying with, making it seem as though he was more or less part of Toha. He didn't even have his bow or quiver on him and he seemed rather bare without them. His hair was loose but he still had a lock of hair tied into a braid.

Misha also downgraded, going from that red tunic to simple red shirt and black pants. The pants were patched up in several places and she let her hair down. Aletta had a simple navy dress and kept her hair under a bandana. Stefan replaced his jacket and outer robes with a long, white muscle shirt but kept his boots and pants. Joel striped away his armour and he was wearing a shirt with torn sleeves and tighter fitting pants.

Despite the fact that Arum and Elli were in the inn, the innkeeper found some clothes that were better in condition for both of them. According to the owners, they belonged to a daughter and her husband who stayed for a time before leaving Toha for Melior. Elli had a purple dress that went down to her ankles while Arum had a black, short sleeved shirt and brown pants. There were no holes, no patches, no signs of ever really being mended at all.

Peter had decided not to change his clothing, electing to keep the appearance of a priest in order for others to let him help if possible. Zeke couldn't seem to abandon his outer cloak. Duma, Chifee, Mike, Nasir, Soren and Rykuu stayed relatively unchanged.

It was Darius who took the reward for the biggest change. He was wearing a white sweater that seemed too big for him and plain black pants. Kaetar rarely ever saw him without his jacket. He also had his hair loose, most of it sitting on his chest. Darius just didn't really look like Darius without his jacket – it was like it was somehow the source for all of his confidence and without it, he seemed lost.

"Are we going to meet here every time?" Joel asked when everyone was reunited.

"No. Routine can spell trouble for us," Syrin mumbled quietly. "However, it's been a while since we could eat something other than apples and deer. We can leave that for the animals for now."

"At any rate, is there anyone who doesn't have a place to stay?" Nasir asked, his eyes scanning the crowd for a response. No one said anything.

"What are we doing now that we're here?" Arum asked.

"Since the majority of people here are in support of us, that means that our numbers have gone up significantly in terms of support. This doesn't mean that we have anyone new to fight with us, but we have a better chance by keeping the battlefield contained. The Crimeas or Daeins can't surround us so long as we keep the entrances secure and we have the numbers to do so," Syrin said quickly, keep his voice steady as he spoke.

"I would say have Darius and Chifee keep watch on the water for one. Our strongest fighters would be Rykuu, Duma, Loiya, myself, Arum and I would also throw Zeke into that mix as well. These would be the main people to go on guard duty with rotating shifts for a while," Joel chimed in with a smirk. "Assuming that the villagers are keeping their eyes out too, then this will be the best way to enforce security for the time being."

Joel's father taught him well. He had a knack of not only keeping up with Syrin when he was speaking strategies, but seemed able to anticipate Syrin's train of thought and add his own opinion that Syrin didn't necessarily disagree with. Syrin's eyes narrowed on Joel.

"Do you disagree?"

"No. I'm just curious as to where you learned tactics from," Syrin mumbled.

"So this is like the night watch while we were travelling, right?" Zeke asked, directing the conversation back on track.

"Essentially, but we will need to organize the shifts to fit a new and bigger environment. The villagers should be able to watch for anything odd in the day time. We can also work with the people here and keep watch that way as well," Joel said easily. "We have three sides to work with basically, as anyone can enter from the sides but everyone on the boats would be checked anyway.

"I think the six mentioned before should split into teams of two, and then those two pick out a partner for a team of four. For example, if Arum and Loiya were together in a team, then Arum would probably pick Elli and then Loiya would pick Kaetar. Arum and Elli would cover one shift at night and Loiya and Kaetar would relieve them at some point in the night, hypothetically speaking of course. I wouldn't suggest that any of the archers be in these teams as we have three of them to cover a side as well but from a more interior position. I suspect that Daeins and Crimeans would be waiting for an opportunity to strike us, so the faster that's spotted that better off we'll be."

Syrin had fallen silent, his red eyes intently following Joel's every move. It was almost like he was testing him.

"So if no one has any objections," Joel said with a smirk, "then we should split ourselves into teams. Arum and Zeke can be one team, Duma and Rykuu can be another and then I will be the last one with Loiya. We'll meet again tomorrow to discuss partners – it's up to us to ask. Are we dismissed, our dear leader?"

"Yes, everyone is free to leave after dinner is served," Syrin mumbled.

For the most part, everyone got fish. Fish composed the majority of the menu, considering the fact that they were close to the water, so fish was plentiful. Kaetar also doubted that many of them even really had fish, at least the kind of fish that were actually sought after for taste. Beyond that, Kaetar was willing to bet that anyone would rather have anything that wasn't a deer.

"Are you the only one who didn't want fish, Peter?" Kaetar asked, digging into his fish already. Peter as the only without any kind of meat on his plate and instead had cheese and bread.

"The last couple of times I had something from the ocean, my body did not react well so I avoid it if at all possible," Peter explained.

"Really?" Kaetar asked. He never really encountered anyone who had bad reactions to certain food.

"Strangest thing, really. It's not the fact that I hate fish or anything, but the last time I ate fish, my throat felt like it was getting tighter," Peter answered with a shrug.

"Wow, I can't imagine not being about to eat whatever I want," Nicholas said, stuffing some fish into his mouth.

"It's fine. We usually just eat soup and bread at the ministry anyway. It's easy to make for several people since it's not usually just us in there. We usually end up feeding the homeless and provide shelter if it's particularly awful outside."

"You can't house the homeless all the time?" Aletta asked. "Why are there homeless people out anyway? We would never let something like that happen in Grann."

"Aletta, Grann is a small country. We have less than a hundred people with us, so it's easier to share resources. Not everyone is so fortunate," Stefan stated simply, allowing time for his words to sink in. She looked down at her plate sadly.

"Don't be upset, Aletta. You're still young. I wish we could house everyone who needed it but we don't have the room or the funds to do what we wish. We rely on donations to do the things that Ashunera can't do right now," Peter mumbled simply.

"That's just sad," Joel mumbled. It was also around this point that Loiya finished off his plate and left the conversation, presumably to wait outside or to go back to the inn. Maybe he wanted to turn in early, considering his lack of sleep from the previous days. All he knew was that Loiya was oddly quiet, his face often stuck on a puzzled expression. Maybe that was the real reason he wanted Nicholas around – he actually tried to make conversation. Even if he didn't talk much, he liked listening to others speak.

Maybe that was just from his life in Daein. Everywhere he went, there were voices – quiet whispers, loud laughter, signs of life. He was always around noise unless he sought out a quiet place for his books. Usually the library was abandoned, leaving Kaetar almost to himself when he was in the mood to read.

"It's a comfy place though," Nicholas mumbled. "How long have you guys been around for?"

"For nearly a century and a half. It wasn't too long after the war between Begnion and the Laguz Alliance ended. The church was converted when the Empress tried to ween everyone off of Ashera," Peter answered cheerfully.

"Ashera's been worshipped all around Tellius for centuries. I would imagine it to be a difficult task to stop people from worshipping her," Nasir said calmly.

"As well as sudden," Joel muttered. "Why the heck would anyone such as an Empress suddenly change their mind on whether to worship Ashera or not?"

"You make it sound like people aren't allowed to change their minds," Duma said quietly.

"Not if they want people to follow willingly. You can't change centuries of traditions on a whim with no explanation and expect people to follow you," Joel muttered.

"That's not always the case. Royal families are usually beloved by their people so they can get away with more than a common person. Emotions aren't logical," Syrin stated. Joel didn't seem to know what to say but Kaetar knew by the look on his face that it was far from over. He just looked angry. At least this wasn't a fight between two friends. Syrin could handle himself in front of Joel.

When everyone was finished, Kaetar followed Syrin outside. Nasir and Stefan, the two that were normally seen with them had gone back to their respective places. Syrin didn't shake Kaetar off like he did with other people and Kaetar was happy to have that sort of relationship with him.

"Do you think that Chibuike will come around?" Kaetar asked.

"At some point, surely," Syrin mumbled. It was all he could say before Joel stopped them.

"Who are you really, Syrin?"

"I'm someone who has been around longer than you have. Simple as that," Syrin answered. "You're not beyond figuring me out though. You just want the instant gratification of knowing."

"I'm just pissed off that you act like you know way more than you let on. In fact, you do know way more than most of us here. I know everyone has different reasons for being here but why are you leading this?"

"Because I hate it when history is treated without any sort of mercy. There are some things we can't change – the flow of words from one individual to another will always change history a bit. History is also written by the victors. Our understanding of history is biased towards the winning side because the defeated rarely speak and say anything to the contrary. However, we can prevent something that everyone can agree is a lie and prevent that from becoming history. That's my goal. I would rather history stayed as accurate as possible."

"Don't we all kind of owe it to Ike and everyone else too? If Ike survives as a god, then doesn't that dismiss everyone else who fought?" Kaetar asked.

Joel nodded. "That is true. They make it look like Daein didn't even try. I bet you know everything that's been lost to history?" he asked in a snarky tone.

"I don't know everything. I know more than most but no mortal knows everything. If you're so envious of my knowledge then go out and better yourself. You're a smart person – not everyone can come up with strategies. Most of the planning in the previous wars depended on a handful of people who had to bend to the whim to their superiors. Your studies haven't gone to waste but if you want the name I used to respond to then you'll need to try a little harder."

Syrin was in an awfully chatty mood. Maybe he was making up for lost time. How long was he without anyone by his side? How long has he isolated himself for? Maybe he was finally ready to open himself up a little and let himself move on. It was hard to say anything about him though – he was difficult to read. He was good at hiding his feelings, unless he was annoyed. Everyone could tell when he annoyed.

"I've spoken too much already," Syrin sighed, walking away. Joel huffed and bit his lips, clearly still aggravated.

"Do you know anything about him?"

"He would kill me if I said anything more."

"Right. He can temporary ignore whatever pain his arm gives him in order to attack when needed. At first, I wondered why he just didn't get rid of a limb that causes him more anguish than anything else but if he really can cast rexcalibur, then he needs to keep it," Joel said quietly.

"That's a tough tome to use, right?"

"It's very difficult to use. You have to be an archsage, which are hard to find in the first place and then you have specialize in a certain type of magic. I would bet that only a handful of people in all of Tellius can use rexcabliur or the other tomes of the same rank. If he could really use it, he had to be one of the best of his time." Joel shrugged.

There was a moment of silence, then his friend suddenly broke out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Kaetar asked curiously.

"Just to think I was so frustrated at my inability to figure him out and the answer was just there! I'm still pissed off that he thought he was important enough to keep it a secret but it all makes sense," he said between breaths. "Anyway, I'll walk you back to the inn. Loiya keeps disappearing on us."

The inn was comfortable. Loiya was sleeping when he and Joel walked him to his room, as well as Nicholas. Kaetar slipped into the remaining cot and closed his eyes.

He was thrown into one of those necklace induced dreams. Soren was small and he didn't see any familiar faces so he figured Soren must have been younger than all the previous visions. He was dressed in rags, clothing that wasn't really clothing but still far too big to fit his tiny body. Kaetar didn't recognize the dirt road that Soren stumbled on, bare foot and groggy.

Hunger gnawed at Soren and Kaetar had the sudden urge to eat. He wanted to wake up and eat with the hunger that Soren was feeling. His throat was dry and it hurt to swallow. It was hard to feel everything that a starving child felt. He was the complete opposite growing up and it seemed to physically hurt Kaetar, even though it was a dream.

Bare foot, hungry and thirsty, Soren stumbled into a village. There were a lot of beorc and the odd laguz here and there. Soren kept his eyes off of them for the most part and kept going, his legs dragging him as far as they could. He could hear whispering but Soren didn't seem to pay them any mind. Perhaps he was used to it.

He faltered. One step sent him spiralling to the ground and for a moment, didn't seem to have enough strength to pick himself up before a sharp pain rose up in his back. Soren forced himself to his knees, but he was hit in the side and almost sent tumbling back to the ground. He barely managed to keep himself up as the pain continued. It took Kaetar a second to realize that some of the small children were throwing rocks at him.

Some of the kids looked no older than Soren was but it disturbed Kaetar that they were laughing. It was like a game to them. Who could hit the little branded the hardest?

It hurt him. It hurt Kaetar to know that someone being pelted with small stones when he was too weak to even get up after. Finally, Soren seemed to find the resolve to get up silently, his eyes wet, his limbs sore with bruises. He didn't give his attackers a second glance as he struggled forward again and Kaetar was allowed to wake up.

He hadn't realized that he was crying. When he sat up, he noticed that his hair was sticking to the tears on his cheeks. He felt hungry and wanted to drink the entire ocean outside his window. He checked himself for bruises but spotted none.

His stirring woke Loiya up. "What's going on?" he asked groggily.

"Nothing," Kaetar responded. "I'm just hungry."

"Hmmm... right," Loiya said quietly. "But it looks like you were crying."

"It was a bad dream but I could use something to eat," Kaetar mumbled. He pulled the blankets back, wiped his face with the back of his hand but Loiya was out of bed before he was and already out the door. Loiya was his bodyguard, not his personal servant darn it!

Even Nicholas seemed to have been rocked out of sleep. He didn't lift his head from his pillow but he turned his head over to look at Kaetar. "You alright, kiddo? Where's Loiya?"

"I'll be okay. It was just a bad dream. Loiya's getting some food for me," he mumbled. Nicholas lifted his head up from the pillow, his hair spilling down his shoulders.

"A bad dream, huh? It's been a while since I last had a nightmare. It was when I was separated from my parents and I had nightmares every night until Loiya's father found me. He was the one to remind me that every time I had an nightmare, it wasn't real. Sometimes I think we forget that," Nicholas said quietly.

Loiya opened the door again. "There wasn't much but I got some fruit."

Nicholas yawned as the prince bit into the food that Loiya so kindly fetched for him. Kaetar knew he wasn't going to go back to sleep.

"You know you're a bodyguard, right?" Nicholas asked with a smile.

"I'm used to fetching things just because I'm around him so often, not exactly because it's part of the job," Loiya answered, sitting down on his bed. "I'm used to following orders."

Kaetar didn't order Loiya around very often. In fact, he didn't order anyone around very often. He left that to his father and the riders to do. His bodyguard followed him where he was needed but he was also occasionally asked to help with something else, bring something to Kaetar or whatever it was that someone wanted him to do. Perhaps part of the reason for the migraines wasn't just being a bodyguard but he also had added duties of following the whims of superiors.

His job really was making him ill. Even if Loiya didn't like the idea, he was going to get Joel hired to give Loiya some time off to relax and do as he pleased. They could alternate weeks or something. His childhood basically disappeared when he was hired and there was no telling what that might do to him in the future. Yugris popped up in his mind, when Loiya had a tantrum after the whole bandit problems. According to him, that was what happened when a child was turned into a soldier.

But Loiya didn't really have the choice and Kaetar had no idea where he would be if he wasn't by his side.

"You don't have to if you don't want to. You're not a servant," Kaetar said between bites. He wasn't hungry before the dream but after spending who knows how long feeling everything a starved child did suddenly made him very hungry. It had to be in his head, this hunger. He couldn't help but fill his stomach though, just to know that it wasn't him who was starving. Loiya looked a little concerned, as did Nicholas, but neither of them seemed to know what to do or say.

Kaetar finished the last piece of the fruit he had and set the others to the side.

Nicholas turned in his bed, moving his back away from Kaetar. He must have been tired enough to fall asleep again. Kaetar, despite not really being tired, tried his best to do the same.

Kaetar settled for a hot bath in the morning, one of the only hot baths he had since he left Daein. Getting clean on the road meant shivering in a cold body of water and he often found himself regretting taking the bath. He enjoyed the heat from the water and he allowed himself to soak in and think. Loiya wasn't outside the door for once and neither was Joel. It felt odd to be alone.

Almost everyone else was outside getting organized. Since Joel's idea yesterday, everyone met outside to figure out this partner stuff and archers were discouraged from going on patrol with the others. Their patrol would be something different, somewhere in the middle and probably perched on a roof or something if he had to guess. Either way, Kaetar was excited. He could finally feel the rebellion actually going somewhere.

They had to take a more defensive position for a while but with improved numbers and the safety of an entire town, they could start something that would truly force Crimea to listen. He was excited to be part of it, to be fighting with people who probably spoke to Ike in some way... and with the necklace around his neck, it was almost like he was there himself.

Kaetar got out and dried himself off, then changed into fresh clothing that he fetched earlier that morning. He went to his room and gasped. Chibiuke was lounging on Kaetar's bed as if he was there all night. He even had a book open, but Kaetar soon realized that it was his journal that he was reading.

"You're quite the storyteller, aren't you Kaetar?" he asked calmly.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm just relaxing, heh heh..." he closed the journal. "'Sides, I have news for you and you are alone!"

Chibuike was the one who hinted that Daein could be in trouble so perhaps he knew of what happened. On the other hand, it was clear that he didn't want to be seen, but perhaps that's just how he survived. He was out of plain sight, hidden and forgotten by Tellius.

"Is it about Daein?"

He chuckled again, scratching at his beard. "All about Daein. I heard from some... sources that Daein was invaded by animated sand. They were sand beings that barely resembled ourselves and could not be taken down through physical means. I don't know you guys did it, but it seems like Daein is safe and sound... except for the sudden desert I would assume."

Daein was attacked by sand? How? How does anyone make sand move? Kaetar couldn't wrap his head around it. It sounded so odd.

"I don't understand magic as well as I would like. It was always a mystery to me, how mages could make something like the wind hurt. Too bad your mages are outside, huh?"

"Can magic even do that?"

"I'm not the one to ask."

"I've learned that people who have been around for a while tend to know more than they let on. Stefan, Syrin, Nasir... they all do it," Kaetar said quietly. He had no doubt in his mind that the man on his bed was in the same league as them.

He broke out in laughter.

"I'm the worst of them all! I might not be as old as a dragon – I have different blood of course – but I'm not exactly... generous when it comes to information, really. Take everything anyone with unknown motives says with a grain of salt. You are after all, far too trusting."

Kaetar wanted to deny that but perhaps it was true. It was easier for others to pick out faults than for the person in question to realize that they existed. But it didn't make it any easier to admit it.

"But when it comes to news, there are no reasons to lie. You'll hear the truth eventually, or some version of it anyway. But when it comes to a personal life, then everyone has secrets that they have no problem bending the truth to protect. I don't feel like you have much to hide but me... heh heh heh."

"Then can you at least say something about Liam?"

"That depends. What do you want to know?" he said with a smirk.

"Why is he after me?"

Chibuike sat up. "I don't know the exact reason. He likes big targets – members of nobility and whatnot. He also just likes to hurt things a lot, including himself, and I find it simply remarkable that one's mind can be so twisted. Crimea wants you alive, Kaetar, but Liam only sees a target," he said, getting out of bed.

"Are you leaving?"

"Yes. It would be unfortunate if I was caught with you alone. They might think I want to kill you. How funny," he said as he headed towards the open window. He waved to Kaetar with a grin before disappearing. It was a good thing that he left because almost as soon as he left, Arum walked in with Elli at his side. He peered around the room, his face confused.

"Were you talking to somebody?" he asked.

"You guys are back already?"

"Some of us are. Some went out for lunch, including Loiya. Elli and I decided to head back to make sure you were okay," Arum answered.

"I guess you two are doing the patrol together?" Kaetar asked. Arum sighed.

"Of course we are. Arum and I have been fighting together the longest, so we work the best together," Elli said quietly.

Between the both of them, they had speed and strength and they seemed to be able to cover what the other lacked. They were opposites in many ways but perhaps that's why they got along so well.

"Does Syrin know that person you were talking to?" he asked, raising his voice a little. He was obviously tired of Kaetar trying to avoid the topic. He didn't know what to say about Chibuike, if he should say anything at all. He didn't know what the right decision was and Arum wasn't the type to back down. His glaring told Kaetar that he was expecting an answer. Maybe he was worried but why would he be worried? They don't really know each other.

Knowing that Arum probably wasn't going to let the subject drop, he nodded. "He doesn't have any plans to harm us but you probably won't see him if he doesn't want you to. He's like Stefan – he seems to appear and disappear at random."

"I hate it when he does that. Stefan I mean," Arum mumbled.

"Would you rather have Stefan or Misha, Ema or Aletta?" Elli asked, poking Arum's side.

"Definitely Stefan-"

"What is the deal anyway? I know you don't like being around them but they aren't very dangerous if you know them," Kaetar asked, sitting on the window sill. There was a nice breeze and his hair was still wet, so it was a perfect time to let his hair dry a bit.

"It's none of your business. It's nothing against them personally, females just remind me of a bad time in my life, okay? I can't exactly help it that it bothers everyone, even though it's none of their business either," Arum snarled.

"I'm just curious," Kaetar said.

"You always seem to be. Sometimes I feel like I should just tell you and get it over with but I think I'll survive your questioning," he answered with a shrug. He walked over to Loiya's bed and sat down before putting his legs up to stretch them out.

"How long are they going to be gone for?"

"I don't know," Elli answered. "Do you mind if I sat down?"

"Arum already did so I don't think it's a problem."

The oldest in the room did look comfortable. To Kaetar, he look about ready to fall asleep on Loyia's bed. Elli turned her attention to him and laughed.

"Are you tired already?"

"This is the most comfortable bed I've been in," Arum said quietly, patting the spot next him. Elli didn't hesitate to lay down right beside him. "Isn't it soft?"

"It is. I wonder why our beds aren't this soft. It's the same inn."

"You guys don't find that crowded?" Kaetar asked. Elli was basically squeezed to Arum's chest, as he had turned to the same side as her in order to accommodate for her. He also wrapped an arm around her waist, as if to protect her. To anyone else, it looked that they were a couple rather than two really good friends. Kaetar didn't suspect romance between the two, though he wasn't the best at reading romance, but if it was anyone else it would be rather telling.

"Don't look at us like that. We're used to sleep like this, sometimes even closer. We needed the body heat to stay warm at nights if we had to be outside. At least parts of Begnion had tame winters," Arum sighed. He didn't have to say anything about Kaetar's castle life – Kaetar expected it from nearly everyone. Out of all of them, it only seemed as though Joel, Kaetar and Loiya were well connected enough to sleep under multiple layers of quilts if they wanted. It was people like Arum, Elli and Mike that lived the complete opposite and looked like they spent most of their lives outside. Mike didn't even sleep in a tent. He stayed with Makken. If it rained or he was cold, they would find him wrapped under his partner's wing in the morning, as his clothing was a little too thin to provide much warmth.

He was used to the occasional jab about his heritage. He didn't exactly blame anyone for it.

"That's alright. You two are just close friends," Kaetar said calmly.

Elli laughed a little. "Not if you talk to Nicholas or Darius. They're convinced we would make a couple, saying things like age doesn't matter. Actually, I think Misha thinks we're cute too."

"Just ignore them," Arum mumbled, his eyes focused on Kaetar. "Meaning that you will not give them any fuel for their arguments."

"Got it." Kaetar wasn't going to say anything in the first place. Arum was the first one off the bed and sat on the floor before anyone could see them.

This is rather late, but enjoy and happy holidays! Also excuse any mistakes, I just wanted to get this out before the month was over.