Carrying the boar back to camp was solved by lifting it and placing it on Freki's back. Freki looked somewhat unhappy about being used as a beast of burden for the corpse, but I fed him some extra mana as recompense.

When we got back, I had Freki stop and rejoin my shadow.

No use scaring the guards.

We carried the boar the rest of the way and plopped the dead beast onto Volk's feet. The captain stared, his eyes narrowing on the massive chunk of meat missing from its neck. He looked up and, for the first time, I saw apprehension in his eyes.

"Well, it's rather surprising to find a rivercrest boar this close to the mountain pass. Was it, uh… a good challenge?" he asked.

I glanced at Alice, who kept a straight face. "I learned some new things from the hunt. I would say it was appropriately difficult."

He nodded and raised a hand to the side of his mouth. "Crolus!"

The skinny guardsman rushed over from one of the camps. The guards in the circle turned to watch us. They all stared at the boar's neck.

"Sir!" yelled out the skinny guardsman. "Is there somethi—ooh my."

He stopped and stared, open-mouthed. Luckily, the captain cleared his throat, and he snapped to attention.

"Crolus, the Grimms have been kind enough to present another source of food. Prepare and preserve the meat. Make sure to give the Grimms their fair share."

"Yes, sir!" Crolus saluted.

His hands fidgeted, and finally, he grimaced and bent down to try and grab its legs. It didn't budge.

Volk's eye twitched. "Crolus, enlist some help."

"Uh, yes sir."

I nodded to the captain, and we left. I waited until we got to the small campfire Devon was setting up before chuckling. Surprisingly, Alice smiled along.

"Successful hunt?" Devon asked as he placed the last stone to surround the pit.

He backed up, and I slid my hand into the log pile. It was simple to ignite the fire, and I pulled my arm out while finding a good spot of grass to sit on.

"It was. But I need to ask. Is there a reason why my senses seem so inconsistent?"

He leaned back against a tree and watched the fire. "Define inconsistent."

I waited until Alice sat down, and she pulled out a sewing kit from her satchel. Looking down at my clothes, I fingered the odd holes and tears.

I'll ask her for lessons later.

"My sense of smell keeps coming and going, and at times, it feels stronger, like I could smell a mile away. Other times, I miss something that should be obvious, even if it's only a foot away. And my vision keeps changing whenever I get angry. Is there any way to control that?"

In response, his eyes turned red.

"I told you before, it's instinct. I can't tell your body how to control it." His eyes returned to normal, and he stoked the campfire's flames. "But there are methods. Tap into your anger, imagine what it's like to be on a hunt, hate something as fiercely as possible."

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"And the smell?"

"That's your problem."

I rolled my eyes. "Of course, it is."

Alice weaved a stitch and snapped the string. "He means it's your own instinct fighting against you. Usually, the sense of smell is the first thing to change. Our bodies are improved, but our old instincts don't want us to process the new smells. It's not used to it, so you instinctively shut it down. It helped when Adeline hid all my things every morning and forced me to find them."

A rare smile slid across Devon's face, one that quickly vanished as he glanced her way. I hadn't thought too much about the relationship dynamic between the two, which seemed unfamiliar at the time. But Devon and Alice should have been acting much closer than they currently were.

Maybe Alice is right.

Devon looked down and pulled up his hood.

If this continues next week, I'll prod them both. This not-talking thing is insanity.

I reached into my satchel and pulled out my sewing kit. "Hey, Alice. Could you teach me what to do? My hoodie is looking awful, not to mention my pants."

"Sure. Grab the red thread and the middle needle next to the spool," she instructed.

Doing as she asked, I stared at the small spool of red thread and frowned. "Why red? Wouldn't black make more sense?"

She pointed to my hoodie. "Yes, but right now, you're learning, and the red will help it stand out so you can see what you're doing. I'll teach you how to sew so the thread doesn't show when you're done."

I shrugged. "Alright."

It took a lot of instructions, but my fingers nimbly moved where I wanted them to, and I managed to patch most of the glaring holes in my hoodie. My pants would have to wait because Yadalee interrupted and dropped off a few slabs of wrapped meat.

"Some portions of the meat will be dried out for jerky, so we'll have some ready to give you by tomorrow morning," she explained.

She fidgeted in place, and I accepted the food. "Thank you. Would you like to join us?"

I could feel Devon's stare, but at least Alice looked neutral about the offer.

Yadalee quickly shook her head. "Thanks for the offer, but the captain likes us eating together."

I tilted my head and looked at a pair of guards sitting atop one of the wagons. Then, I panned over to a single guard sitting beside his horse, scarfing down a large bowl of soup.

Riiight.

"Enjoy your food, Yadalee."

She dipped her head and scurried off, moving as fast as possible without actually running.

I sighed and began unwrapping the thickest package. "Are we sure the public sparring match was a good idea? Having our own driver be spooked by the sight of us seems counterintuitive."

Devon held out his hand, and I handed over the slabs while he began impaling the meat onto stakes. His face was hard to see with the hood up, but his eyes looked dark. "You'll think differently after a time. Even the kindest-looking people can turn on you. Mothers and fathers, who only a day before wanted to embrace you for saving their loved ones, could very easily point a spear your way the next."

He staked the meat at an angle so it roasted over the fire before leaning back and staring at me from underneath his hood.

"When was the last time you ever enjoyed your job, Devon?."

He stayed silent for a long time before staring at his hand. In an instant, his gloves disappeared, and a thick, bestial arm equipped with sharpened black claws flexed.

"I don't know."

His arm returned to normal, and he stood up. He left his spear behind but casually walked away, leaving Alice and me to stare. Her own face looked just as complicated as Devon's, and she returned to staring at the fire, the embers danced along her blue eyes.

That explains a lot. Maybe I shouldn't asked that.

The fire popped, and some juice dripped down the wood and onto the charcoal below.

Feeling weird about the interaction, I slid my hood up and leaned back to lie on the grass.

"Do you think he'll be back to eat?"

She didn't answer.

Yeah, thought so too.

***

By the next day, the guards began loading the wagons, and I helped lift a freshly filled barrel of water onto our wagon. The rest of yesterday was rather dull. Devon didn't return until well after we ate, and Alice and I had another spar.

I lost every bout, but Alice's victory wasn't so easily won. After the third knockdown, when things began to get heated, I stopped and started asking for instructions. Devon broke his silence and actually helped.

It was rather shocking to watch the big man show off with his spear, but I accepted it as him trying to get over the tension.

Or at least, that was what I wanted to believe.

Now that the captain had everything ready, Yadalee hitched up the horses, and we set off. It took another twenty minutes, but eventually, the first wagon passed through the split into the mountain.

There was enough space for a wagon to have ample room on both sides but not enough for two wagons to move side-by-side.

I shifted to the back of the wagon and pulled aside the leather covering, revealing the bright morning sky. The driver behind us looked increasingly worried at the sight of me, but I ignored him and watched the last of the trees disappear from view before closing the flap and sitting back down.

Alice was already at work refining the light incantation, and I closed my eyes to meditate.