For two more days, they walked in a vague northern diagonal, drifting deeper into Kai but at a slow pace. The land, much like that of the Fire Tribe, was parched and cracked with only scattered patches of scraggly trees and shrubs. The drought had also dealt a heavy hand to this part of Kai. However, on the second day, their group was skirting the edge of ravine when Shin-Ah stopped short in the middle of the barely-there path.
The quick stop caused Yoon, who had been looking behind to talk to Yona, to bump into his back.
"A warning maybe?" Yoon said, stepping back and shaking his head, irritation plain on his face.
"Especially when we're on a cliff, Shin-Ah," Jae-Ha mused.
"Sorry," Shin-Ah said. He looked back, checking on all of them.
For reassurance, Lien offered him a smile. She had no idea what it was that had caught Shin-Ah's attention. For one, with his farsight ability what he could see might be easily out of sight for her. For the other, she was short. She couldn't see past Hak's back. She and Zeno were near the back, walking between Hak and Jae-Ha while playing a hand game to pass the time. Zeno knew so many games and songs and stories and dances. It was amazing he knew so many at his age; he must have traveled even more than she did.
"What is it, Shin-Ah?" Kija asked.
"If you can, say it's nothing," Hak grumbled, looking around them with a tense smile. Lien realized that if there was a threat, they might be in trouble. The path they were walking wasn't awful wide, with a hundred foot drop off on one side and a rock face on the other. They could walk side by side, but a battle?
Zeno leaned back, balancing on his heels for a second. "It's all right, Kirin. We're not fighting here."
She half-smiled at him. "Forgive me for not always sharing your optimism."
He grinned back. "Forgiveness given."
"Fields," Shin-Ah said, "To the west."
"Fields?!" Yoon squeezed past Shin-Ah, ignoring Kija as he attempted to grab his arm. "What kind, do they look healthy? Edible?"
"Zeno could eat an entire field about now," Zeno added.
"Now? That's a constant thing with you," Hak said.
Yona put her hand on Shin-Ah's elbow. Ao jumped from Shin-Ah's shoulder to the top of Yona's head and then dashed inside of the hood of her cloak. "Are there people?"
"Many," Shin-Ah said, "There's a city beyond."
Lien thought about it, dredging up everything she knew about this part of Kai. While she wasn't terribly familiar with the small towns, her caravan had played in various cities. While all of the Kai royals quarreled with each other, some were more dangerous than others.
"Hak, where are we? Do you know?" she asked.
He glanced over his shoulder at her. Hak waved at the land around them with a slow, exaggerated gesture, a mischievous gleam in his eyes now that he knew there wasn't any danger. "This is called a ravine."
She clapped a hand to her mouth in feigned shock. "Oh, my goodness, I didn't realize—" Rolling her eyes, she tugged the back of his coat. "I'm serious."
He smiled back at her. "I haven't been here before, but I think that city could be Sōngshù, if I'm remembering the map correctly."
Sōngshù. It was vaguely familiar, but she couldn't remember the caravan going through that city, which made was a note of concern. Cities meant money. She attempted to dredge up any information about the city. and toyed with a ribbon on one of her fans as they kept walking.
"I can tell you're frowning."
Jae-Ha's voice startled her. He had stepped up closer to her and Zeno. "What are you thinking about so intensely?"
"I'm trying to remember things," she said, wriggling her fingers in the air. "I don't think I've been to Sōngshù before, if that's where we're headed. Hak doesn't know."
"I apologize sincerely for not being a living map," Hak said wryly.
"And that's an issue?" Jae-Ha asked, eyebrow raised, "That you haven't been here."
"We go everywhere that's safe and can provide us with money for performances," Lien said, "I'm not worried about the money part but safety…"
"Sōngshù was under the leadership of the Rygol family, but it switches hands often," Hak said, "I'm not sure who is in charge anymore. Your caravan probably avoided it because of the constant change."
"Sounds right," she said. She wrapped the ribbon around her finger. "Maybe we shouldn't stay very long."
"I don't think it'd take much time," Kija said, "We simply need to go in, ask them if we can buy seeds, and then leave to go back to Kouka."
"Hopefully it's that easy," Yona said.
Yoon stared at her, dismay on his face. "Why did you say that?" He tossed a frown at Kija. "And you! You said the word simply!"
"I don't understand the issue," Kija replied, blinking in surprise at Yoon's anger.
"You're asking for a misadventure," Yoon groaned. He tilted his head back as if asking the gods above for patience. "This isn't going to end well."
Hak reached out and put a hand on top of Yoon's head. "And you're making things so much better."
Yoon shoved his hand away. "I'm trying to be realistic!"
Lien smiled and scooted through their group, edging around Hak and past Yoon and Kija. She squeezed Yona's wrist as she went by, sharing a smile with her friend. Yona followed her up to the front, to where Shin-Ah was surveying the city.
As she stepped up to his side, she got a glimpse of his golden dragon eyes before he quickly covered them with his mask. He turned and looked down at the two of them, the fur of his mask brushing over his shoulder.
"Did they look nice?" Lien asked, tilting her head to the side.
"I…am not a good judge of that," Shin-Ah said.
Yona turned in the direction that Shin-Ah had been looking, her gaze as fiery and determined as Lien's abilities. "We'll be careful, but we're going to get some seeds to help the Fire Tribe. No matter what Yoon thinks, we're going to succeed."
"I think I'm afraid for the city," Hak said. He had caught up, never willing to be far from Yona. Lien could his pride in Yona from the way he looked at her when she wasn't watching him.
Lien put her hands on her hips. She couldn't see the city or the fields, but she trusted Shin-Ah. And she was with Yona and Kija in her hopes that everything went well and didn't take long. However, she wasn't going to say anything; she didn't want to awaken the wrath of Yoon.