We walked down a thin, twisting trail under the sun's fading light. The shadows grew across the path, making it sometimes difficult to discern. Melody walked it with a sure foot. Her brother trailing behind her was just as confident.

I could have used my power to easily see the trail, but I didn't bother. If I had used my ability to see the path, it would have obscured my ability to see the campfire. In the distance was an orange glow towering above everything but the trees.

Melody was right that the campfire was nice. It was a big fire, but smaller than I initially thought, set inside a pit on a site up a little deeper into the campground. The hole was probably twice the size of a typical one at every campsite. There was a loose circle of benches around the fire, but I noticed many people had brought their own chairs to sit on. I sat next to Melody and looked around at the scene.

Just as it had been at lunchtime, the area was dominated by a majority of women and children. As the fire grew, I could feel its heat charring my face.

"It gets pretty warm, huh?" Melody said.

"Yeah, but it's a nice contrast to the cold," I replied. After enjoying the scene and the fire, I decided to ask Melody about the lack of men. "There's a lot of women and children here. Is that what most of the camp is made up of?" I asked.

"No. Most of the men are on rotating patrols, so they usually do that or rest. After," she paused to gather her thoughts, "everything that happened, traditional roles that were common a few decades ago, started to return. We have women who do patrols, though. Uncle Enzo lets people do whatever jobs they sign up for. You're not one of those chauvinistic types, are you?"

"Chauv-a-what?"

"Chauvinistic. Do you think women can't do the same things as men?"

The thought never occurred to me. Sarah was the best Carpenter in our group, and we had plenty of female cadres at the camp. I noticed that Melody was looking at me and waiting for my answer.

"I definitely don't think that. I was wondering because it was similar to lunchtime, and I guess I was expecting more people here."

"Well, it's still early. Usually, more men arrive after the women and children have eaten. Plus, it's story night, and everyone will be curious with you here."

"Story night?"

"Yep. It's super fun, and most of the guys come for it. Basically, they retell older movies that they have seen. Come on, let's get some food," she said and got up from the bench.

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The food was chicken and potatoes, and I dug in with gusto. The chicken was some of the best I could ever remember. The chickens we had in the camp were old and freezer-burned from years spent in storage.

I focused on the food as I ate. With it, the combination of the heat on my face, and the sound of the crackling fire, it wasn't long before I lost myself in the moment. My mind had been blissfully blank as I ate, and when I looked up, there were significantly more people around the campfire.

I expected people to look over in furtive glances and see them slyly whispering to companions in range, but no one seemed to pay me any attention. Everyone was in groups, laughing and smiling as they talked. The kids would transition between playing with the other children and running up to their parents to ask questions. It was all so normal and strange at the same time.

"Everyone, gather around," shouted a man as he walked up to the fire.

The children immediately stopped their rambunctious game and ran over to the fire, jostling each other for a close place to sit and hear the story.

The man who had called everyone over had light skin and brown hair that was wreathed in the orange glow of the fire and interspersed with shadow. "In honor of our newest guest," he started. A few eyes darted at me, but the man didn't make a spectacle of my presence. Instead, he made a spectacle of himself as he began to walk around the fire and animatedly orate.

"We have decided to regal all those here with one of the greatest tales to ever be told. It is filled with action, adventure, giants and monsters. It has sword fights, pirates, and evil royalty, but most of all, it is a tale of true love." Some of the younger boys groaned and made noises as if they were going to be sick, but the man just smiled and continued.

"He's the best storyteller," Melody whispered to me as she leaned close. I could feel her breath on my cheek.

It was an excellent story, and as he told it, he continued to walk around the fire. The floating embers swirled around as he acted out the more action-packed scenes. He reacted to the crowd's gasps and groans with whatever response needed to keep the story flowing and enlisted our help to keep everyone's attention focused on the event.

As he finished, everyone stood and clapped. The kids started chanting for more. He bowed low and theatrically with faux arrogance while blowing kisses to everyone.

Melody stood and stretched, "That was a long one, but wasn't it so good? I've never heard that one before. I wonder how good the movie was?"

"I don't know. Honestly, I barely remember movies," I said. Melody seemed to pick up on my somber tone, so she didn't reply.

She motioned us to go back, so we silently walked to the tents. I was glad because I really liked the story and wanted to keep thinking about it to stop myself from thinking about other things. As we returned to the tent, we stood quietly for a moment, but then I heard a strange sound. It was a light whooshing sound like the wind going through trees, but there wasn't a breeze.

"Do you hear that? What's that sound?" I asked.

Melody stood still, tension visible as she strained to hear what I was talking about; suddenly, her body released its tension. "Do you mean the river?" she asked.

"There's a river?" I knew I had hidden on the bank of a stream, but I didn't realize there was a river nearby.

"Yeah, how about we go check it out tomorrow?" she asked.

"Sure," I said. It wasn't like I had anything better to do, plus I could do some recon on the area's terrain.

She nodded, said goodnight, and went into her tent with her brother. I went into my own tent and was asleep within moments.