He woke up laying on his back. The sun had begun to light the sky, turning it from black to red and gold. There was a weight on his right side, and memories came flooding back from the night before, making his heart pound. For several minutes, he simply lay there, the happiest man in the world. Slowly lifting Haelith's head off of his arm, he set it back down gently to not wake her. Pulling off his hardened leather tunic, he lay it on her. He didn't know why, but it just felt like the right thing to do right now. As quiet as the fog, he crept back to the camp, where the first few others were already awake and tending to fires, heating kettles, and tidying up. He said nothing, but fetched some coffee from his bag, and made a pair of pour overs, before just as silently returning to where she lay. The ground was damp with the morning dew, but Barret didn't mind. He sat down, putting both cups on a small flat rock to the side, and he stretched his legs out. A soft noise beside him told him that she was beginning to wake. "Good morning, beautiful. Care for a cup of coffee?"

Haelith hadn't opened her eyes yet, but smiled. "Coffee? Already? I mean, I'm not complaining, but how long have you been up?"

"Not long. Here. It's nice and hot, which gives us time to enjoy it with the sunrise." Haelith sat up as she took the cup, leaning on his arm. They sat in silence as the morning mist began to rise, the warmth of the sun creeping up over the horizon. "I didn't dream all that last night, right? It was all real?"

"If it was a dream, then I hope to dream like that every night for the rest of my life."

Barret smiled gently as he pulled her closer. "You know, I never thought I would find someone like you. Someone I could love forever. I expected to go through this life on my own, not caring about anyone but my brother, and then when he was gone, it would just have been me. But here you are. Right here. Right beside me."

Haelith chuckled. "It is strange. I actually felt a bit of the same. I never expected to find anyone who would see me for me. Everyone I knew either saw me for who my father was, or saw me for what he represented. Even after I ran away, he was still all anyone saw in me. When other Ishtaer found out who I was, most of them scorned me, turned me away. I was always alone. And I expected to always be alone. But then… here you are."

"And I'll always be there for you. Nothing in this world could make me not come back to you. I could be lost forever, I could be sent to the bottom of the sea, I could be taken to the other side of the world, and I would still find a way. Somehow, I would find a way to get back to you."

"Speaking of getting back… we should go back to camp before they start to worry." She made to stand up, but Barret pulled her back down.

"Eh, let them worry. Right now, I just want to enjoy this moment." Sitting back down, Haelith decided to just roll with it, and leaned on Barret, and so he leaned back on her. The sun began to warm them as the first rays crept above the horizon. Haelith sat there, listening to the world for a moment, but then suddenly realized that she was hearing music. Sitting up straight, she glanced around, before he eyes fell on Barret.

"Are… are you humming?"

"Hm? Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize that I was doing that out loud."

"No, it's fine. Just… I never knew that you enjoyed music."

Barret chuckled. "Well, I admit that I can't make my own, but I remember music I've heard before. I was remembering a song that my mom used to sing every day when I was very young, and I guess it never left me."

"Will you sing it for me?" Barret was quiet for a minute, his eyes closed. Then, he began to sing, his tenor voice lowly echoing on the empty fields around them.

"The coming dawn, the breaking day,

From rising sun, til darkness breaks,

I will go on, forever more,

Though silence grows, I carry on.

Nearer to me, now ever be,

Stay by my side, I'll stay by thine.

When shadows grow, when death draws close,

Though my fear grows, I'll carry on."

The song was simple and sweet, but slow and sad at the same time. "That was beautiful." Haelith said, putting her head back on his shoulder.

"I'm glad you liked it. I don't remember the rest of it, but it sings of hope and joy, even when the world seems to be darkest, because love will always be right there. It's been years since I've sang for anyone but myself. Eris and I… we would often sing while we waited for food to cook. He would sing lower than I do, and the harmony just seemed right."

"Maybe someday I'll sing with you."

"…I'd enjoy that." They sat in silence for a long while, sipping coffee, sitting together, listening to the sounds of the world, and feeling each other's hearts beat against their arms. The world seemed right in this moment. There was nothing that could take it away from them. Finally, Barret pushed her off of his shoulder, and stood up, holding his hand out for her. "I wish I could stop time, and spend an eternity like that, but you are right. We should get back. I'm surprised Raine didn't come looking for us."

"Same. I wonder… her sense of smell is so keen, do you think she'll know that we…"

Barret shrugged and began to walk with her, holding his cup in one hand, and her with the other. "Probably. We won't be able to keep this a secret. We're both covered in each other's scents. Then again, we've also just spent so much time together, most people might not even notice. Raine probably would, but she's also not fully wolf right now."

"Regardless, we should tell her when we get back. She's my friend, she should know before anyone else."

"Fair enough." As they approached the camp, there was a flurry of activity, with the camp being packed up like it usually was. Walking through the chaos, Raine looked over at them, raising an eyebrow.

"Ah, you are still with us. Where did you go last night?"

"We went for a walk, and… needed to talk." Barret said, blushing. "I… had some things to get off my chest."

"Is that all?" Raine asked with a smirk, and both Barret and Haelith blushed.

"I… we should get a move on. Looks like most everyone else is packed and ready to move." Barret said quickly, reaching for the glaive that rested on his bag. Through the morning, he walked with Haelith at the front of the column like usual, leading them ever onward. He and Haelith didn't have a chance to talk much, especially with so many listening ears. They knew that there were already rumors and whispers running through the tribe about them, but they didn't care. Today was their day.

It was almost noon when Raine jogged forward through the group to join them. "Alright, start talking. What actually happened last night? Everyone's curious, and sooner or later they will find out, so you might as well just spill the beans before the rumors get out of hand."

Barret smiled. "It was nothing bad, I promise you that. In fact, the world has never felt more right. I… I realized while we were in the jail that I was alone. I had no one. My parents are long dead, I was backstabbed by my brother, and all of my friends were gone. But there was one who I had still. One who I wanted to always have next to me. So… I proposed to Haelith." He pulled her close as he said this, a wide grin on his face.

Raine's jaw dropped, her eyes wide. "What?!"

"I said yes. I feel the same way about him. I had no one, but I want to always have him." Haelith was smiling just as widely as Barret.

"Di- I- Y-" Raine stammered as she tried to find the right words. "I'm so happy for you!" She finally managed to say, leaping onto both of them with a big hug. "I can't wait to get back and we can tell everyone!"

Barret laughed as Raine let go. "Won't they be shocked! Well, most of them. Pretty sure nothing would shock Trace at this point." The three laughed together, sharing in each other's joy. The afternoon went on, and the rumors died down as the truth spread like wildfire through the tribe. It was near evening when they made camp next, and Barret, while he was happy, was tired of talking to people. There had been a non-stop flow of congratulations and well wishes for him, and while he did appreciate it, he also wanted to just wander off with Haelith and leave everyone else behind. But as he looked at his maps, he sighed. They were his people, and this was his tribe, whether he wanted it or not.

Haelith appeared next to him with a bowl of stew from a nearby fire, smiling. "So, how far away are we from Edinmire?"

"Four weeks, five at most. I've been trying to keep us away from cities, but we seem to have run into an unavoidable problem. I knew we would have to cross this area eventually, but we're here. And in this area, there's dozens of small towns and villages that stretch all the way from the forest near Hatchet's Harbor all the way to Valinos. It runs right through the center of Mekkan, and there's no way we're going to be able to avoid being seen. But, we can make the most of this. We can slip through right here, but…" Haelith looked at the map and frowned. There was a gap between the village that wasn't even named on the map, and the largest city in the area.

"Durlon."

"We need supplies. Blankets, oil, candles, arrows, clothes, all sorts of things. Sure, we could try our luck with one of the smaller towns, but Durlon will have all the things we need. It's not… ideal, but we can have Raine go into town with some of the Keidrans and humans. Hopefully we won't draw too much attention."

"I didn't realize we were so close."

"We're not yet. It's still a four day walk, and the city rests in a valley, so it's hard to spot from the plains. I'll bring it up to Raine, but I don't think we have much of a choice."